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Audie Cornish talks to Patrick Duddy, the last U.S. Ambassador to serve in Venezuela. He's currently a visiting senior lecturer at Duke University's Center for International Studies.

The House has approved a bill to fund the federal government through the end of September. The continuing resolution introduced by Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY), who heads the Appropriations Committee, would avoid a potential government shutdown on March 27.

The stock market's long climb has some people concerned it may be a bubble about to burst — a bubble artificially pumped up by the Federal Reserve's easy-money policy. That's led to calls — even from within the Fed — for an end to the central bank's extraordinary efforts to keep interest rates low.

With across-the-board spending cuts now on autopilot, there's a momentary lull in Washington's budget brinksmanship. So the president is using this window to try to craft a more lasting approach to the federal debt.

A federal judge could rule as soon as Thursday in the case, which comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is also set to deal with gay marriage later this month. In Michigan, a lesbian couple sued because the state bans same-sex couples from adopting kids. Then, the judge invited them to go even further.

Nogales, Ariz., is home to one of the nation's busiest ports of entry. Trucks line up for inspection before heading to grocery stores in the U.S. But the sequester is forcing the ports to make cuts, leading some to fear higher prices for food and strained relationships with foreign trading partners.

A rice enriched with beta-carotene promises to boost the health of poor children around the world. But critics say golden rice is also a clever PR move for a biotech industry driven by profits, not humanitarianism.

The newest movie version of The Wizard of Oz, opens this weekend. Oz the Great and Powerful stars James Franco as the wizard. The movie goes beyond the Technicolor wonder of the famous MGM film to a full-blown 2013 treatment with 3D and surround sound.

Also: Self-portraits of famous authors; why two major spring novels have the same title; and literary statues from around the world.

Hear one of the most exciting pieces of 21st-century music: a new retelling of Jesus' last days, from Latin American and Jewish perspectives, courtesy of composer Osvaldo Golijov and collaborators.