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A group of nurses is competing for $10,000 in a weight-loss contest. A New York man motivated himself by pledging to donate to a cause he hated. Both approaches use money to reach a target weight. But which is better — the carrot or the stick?

Most kids look forward to their school's winter break. But millions of students in the U.S. get free or reduced-price meals at school, and when school is closed, many of those children eat less until classes are back in session.

February's jobs numbers were better than expected. The jobless rate is now the lowest it's been since President Obama took office. The rate's recent peak was 10 percent in October 2009.

In this year's presidential election, more than 1 out of every 10 eligible voters is Hispanic, and Hispanic political clout is growing. But while Spanish-language ad spending by the campaigns is eight times what was spent in 2008, that spending has been focused mainly on just seven media markets.

Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz checks back in with the winner of the last round of Three-Minute Fiction, Carrie MacKillop of Charlotte, Vt. Round 9 of the writing contest has begun and runs through next Sunday. Listeners can submit their story online at www.npr.org/threeminutefiction.

Blanco, a first-generation Cuban-American, says he identifies with the theme of the inauguration: Our People, Our Future. He is the fifth poet to take part in a U.S. presidential inauguration, and also the youngest. He says being selected was a "great honor."

The willingness of some House members to vote against providing aid in the wake of Superstorm Sandy reflects a growing desire to take a different approach to the next set of disasters. But critics of the way federal relief is spent are still groping for a way to change it without seeming hard-hearted in the face of tragedy.

The veteran actor makes his directorial debut with a film about four aging opera singers who stage a concert at their retirement home. Starring Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay, the film explores friendship, memory and the time that remains.

What's the easiest way to raise money in one Midwestern city? Asking questions like that. On any given winter weekend in the St. Louis area, thousands of people turn out and play trivia to benefit charity.

The White House releases all the emails related to the so-called talking points produced in the aftermath of the attack on the U.S. diplomatic post in Benghazi.