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For years, there's been talk in Washington, D.C., about the "grand bargain" — a big deficit-reducing budget deal that rewrites the tax code and trims from the long-term costs of Medicare and Social Security. Tuesday night, Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Paul Ryan announced what can only be described as a small bargain. But if it's approved by the House and Senate, it would avoid another government shutdown in January.

Staffers at Bloomberg News accused editors of spiking an investigative story to avoid the wrath of the Communist Party. But analysts say accusations of self-censorship go far beyond this one case. One American academic compares China's censorial authority to a "giant anaconda" — its mere presence enough to make people limit their behavior.

Tens of thousands of South Africans, joined by global dignitaries, gathered at Johannesburg's FNB Stadium in Soweto Tuesday to honor Nelson Mandela, who died last week.

When it comes to awards in theater or television or dance or literature, Frank Deford observes, candidates don't worry about losing out because of a personal flaw. Only sports applies that off-the-field standard.

Officials at the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the SEC signed off on new banking rules Tuesday. Under the so-called Volcker rule, banks will be barred from trading in their own accounts, but will still be able to buy and sell on behalf of clients. Big investment banks will no longer be able to own hedge funds or private equity firms. The new regulations took more than three years to complete.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan announced a bipartisan budget proposal Tuesday. For more details on the plan, Steve Inskeep speaks with Murray, who led her party in the negotiations.

Rachel Garcia turned 32 dead mice into a chess set. The bishop mice have little bishop hats. The knights hold plastic swords like you'd find in a lemon slice. They're the perfect chess set — if you're willing to touch them.

Federal regulators moved to tighten banking rules to curb risky trading on Wall Street Thursday. The so-called Volcker rule, part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank regulatory overhaul, would preclude banks from making risky bets on their own accounts. Audie Cornish talks to Simon Johnson, a professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management, for more on what the rules will mean.

The once-sleepy tourist town of Noel, Mo., in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, is now home to hundreds of immigrants and newly arrived refugees, thanks largely to the huge Tyson Food Inc. poultry plant. And since the town lacks the infrastructure to serve these new residents, schools have become the de facto safety net.

Thousands gathered to remember and celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela Tuesday despite a downpour of rain. As one attendee said, "Mandela endured 27 years in prison. I can suffer through a day of rain."