President Obama met with visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai this week in Washington, D.C. Their discussions focused on what role the U.S. will play in Afghanistan after 2014, when most American and NATO troops are scheduled to leave the country.

Brazil now rivals the United States in food production. Environmentalists in Brazil complain that this surge in production has come at the expense of forests, including the Amazon. But they're facing one tough farming advocate: a senator, landowner and head of the country's most powerful Big Agro association. (This piece initially aired Jan. 7, 2013 on Morning Edition.)

More than 156,000 people descended on Las Vegas this past week to gawk at acres and acres of the latest shiny gadgets. Host Scott Simon speaks with NPR's Steve Henn, who has been road-testing new gadgets at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Vice President Joe Biden met with factions in the gun debate this week from the National Rifle Association to the families of the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings. On Tuesday, Biden will present the recommendations of the task force on gun violence he has been leading to President Obama. Host Scott Simon speaks with NPR's Brian Naylor about the efforts to find common ground.

A number of cities have launched gun buyback programs to reduce the number of firearms in circulation, but it may not be very effective in reducing street crime. Host Scott Simon speaks with Santa Fe Sheriff Raymond Rael about his city's program. Simon also speaks with Johns Hopkins associate professor Jon Vernick about the efficacy of such schemes.

Three years ago, a massive earthquake destroyed much of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. Roughly 200,000 people were killed and more than 1 million left homeless. Now, most of the earthquake debris has been removed, but many of the grand plans to rebuild never materialized. Host Scott Simon speaks with NPR's Jason Beaubien in Haiti.

President Obama says he won't negotiate about the borrowing limit. He says the Congress must raise the debt ceiling to pay for spending it's already OK'd. But Republicans say they'll use the threat of default to get more spending cuts from the White House. Obama still has some options if he and Congress can't reach an agreement.

Host Scott Simon talks to Weekend Edition Math Guy Keith Devlin about a new award being handed out at Stanford University. The winner is the percent sign, which appeared repeatedly in headlines in 2012, from Occupy Wall Street to the presidential campaign.

For the next month, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is asking residents to tangle with the Burmese python. They say it's a "harvest," but really they're asking people to hunt as many pythons as possible.

New York Knicks captain Amar'e "STAT" Stoudemire is a six-time All-Star, an education activist and the author of three books for middle-schoolers. In his latest release, an injury helps an 11-year-old STAT learn lessons both on and off the court.