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When North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died last month, few were sorry to see him go, except in neighboring China, where the state-run press ran a smiling photo of Kim and mourned the loss of a "friend." So why did China back one of the world's most loathed dictators and is now supporting his youngest son?

The sports world is brimming with talk about Lopez Lomong, the American runner who set a 2012 world best in the men's 5,000-meter race Sunday. Lomong ran the distance in 13 minutes and 11.63 seconds — but the race took a very unusual turn in its final laps.

Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix over the weekend, but in a larger sense the winners were the race organizers. They managed to hold the race which was canceled last year by political unrest, which was part of the uprisings of the Arab Spring. Bill Law, of the British Broadcasting Corporation, talks to Steve Inskeep about the weekend's events in Bahrain.

Host Scott Simon talks with CEO and Foreign Policy Editor-at-Large David Rothkopf about Europe's financial crisis and how the new leaders who started the austerity plans are now in danger of being booted.

The possibility that French Socialist Francois Hollande may unseat President Nicolas Sarkozy in Sunday's election is making waves. Hollande's promise to boost growth and job creation would mark a change from the fiscal austerity pact championed by Sarkozy and Germany's Angela Merkel.

In recent years, college football programs have been hit by a series of scandals. And observers have long raised questions about the risks of head injuries. A panel of experts looks at the state of college football in the latest Intelligence Squared U.S.

What happened when two guys who sell pizza out of a window in New Orleans decided to buy a Facebook ad — and what it says about the state of social-media advertising.

In the beginning, all of the talent was black, but the UniverSoul Circus evolved into an eclectic mix of acts from around the world. Now, the circus is pushing to diversify its audience, with a show called "Us."

Bike to Work Day is this Friday. And that prompts a question: Do you bike to work? If so, you should prove it — by taking a photo of yourself and your bike. Then share the picture, and we'll consider it for a Bike to Work Day gallery. Post it to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag #NPRbike.

The dirt track at the hallowed Churchill Downs is known for crushing dreams and cementing equine legacies. Raymond "Butch" Lehr leads a team of dozens that carefully tends the one-mile oval. On Saturday, Lehr will end his 30-year career.