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Kristen Johnson, also known as Lady Houdini, goes far beyond the role women usually play in escape acts. "It was important for me to be a strong example for young women in particular," she says.

Built by a former automobile engineer, the ELF bike is a pedal-driven, solar electric-assisted bicycle that offers its riders some protection from the elements. One customer picked up his new bike in North Carolina — and is riding it home to Massachusetts.

Micro-gardens are small spaces, such as balconies, patios and rooftops, cultivated with planting containers like wooden boxes and trash cans. Now, creative reuse of old materials and some new tools for sale are making it easier for urban dwellers to stretch their green thumbs.

Twenty-nine lawmakers are supposed to come up with a long-term budget deal by mid-December. They meet again Wednesday around a conference table, facing huge hurdles and led by two people who couldn't be more different: Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.

Weather experts say the Pacific storm Haiyan, which is pounding the Philippines, could be the strongest ever to make landfall in recorded history, with maximum sustained winds estimated at 195 mph.

Republican Rep. David Rivera is under investigation in a case that involves allegations of cash-stuffed envelopes and a missing GOP campaign operative. Now, Democrats in Florida think they have a good chance of capturing his seat.

Piggybacking on a modified jumbo jet, the retired space shuttle will make its way from Florida to a permanent display site at the California Science Center. After this week's final flight, the 170,000-pound shuttle still has to navigate the streets of Los Angeles, which is no easy task.

Eight weeks before the presidential election, new laws passed by Republican legislatures that concern who can vote and when remain in the hands of federal and state judges. The federal court trial over South Carolina's voter ID law raised questions about how such laws might be implemented.

In a closed-door meeting Thursday, lawmakers will consider whether to approve the report, which human rights groups are pushing to be made public. It's part of an ongoing fight over whether harsh interrogation methods, which critics compared to torture, were effective.

President Obama formally kicks off his campaign Saturday with a pair of rallies: one in Richmond, Va., and one in Columbus, Ohio. NPR's Scott Horsley joins host Scott Simon to talk about the day.