All Things Considered

Secretary of State John Kerry is back in Washington to defend the proposed nuclear deal with Iran to skeptical members of Congress. He and his colleagues from other major powers failed to reach a deal with Iran during talks over the weekend in Geneva. Iran blames France's hard line for blowing up the deal, though Kerry has tried to downplay that.

Perhaps no company showed how the Internet could turn sharing into a global phenomenon more than Napster. The music-sharing site upended the record industry. But the industry ultimately survived and free-music Napster did not. What are new businesses doing to avoid the same fate?

There's been a rare bit of good news in Eastern Congo this month. One of the rebel groups that have terrorized civilians in the mineral rich part of the the Democratic Republic of Congo agreed to end its rebellion. There's still a lot of work to do to disarm the M23 and to keep other rebel movements in check. But this small victory is a boost for U.N. peacekeepers, who are under a new, tougher mandate to protect civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some experts wonder if this could be a new model for peacekeeping.

Lobbyists are known for their influence, but perhaps less obvious is that lobbyists often write legislation — sometimes word for word. In a recent example, media reports showed how bank lobbyists had a hand in drafting a House bill aimed at rolling back financial regulations.

The U.S. share of international shipping has been shrinking ever since World War II. The latest threat comes from a proposed change that would allow the U.S. to buy a large percentage of its food aid in local markets, instead of from the U.S. That would mean less shipping from the U.S., and possibly fewer jobs.