The government of Myanmar bars or severely restricts reporting by foreign correspondents. NPR is withholding the name of the veteran journalist who recently entered the country and filed this story, in order to protect his identity and his ability to return in the future.

The newest — and nicest — road in Myanmar is, paradoxically, one of the emptiest as well: Only a handful of cars travel along the desolate four-lane highway to nowhere, or so it seems.

Saying it is deeply troubled by "tragic events" alleged to have happened at Penn State, the NCAA has told the school it is launching an examination of whether the university has "institutional control over its intercollegiate athletics program, as well as the actions, and inactions, of relevant ... personnel."

It's hard to miss the irony: Leon Panetta, as President Clinton's budget guru, backed billions of dollars in Pentagon cuts. Now, as secretary of defense, he's warning that the U.S. could become a "paper tiger" if his department's budget is further reduced.

The artist Ai Weiwei can't seem to catch a break with the Chinese government. His open dissension, of course, doesn't help, but the government has kept coming after him time and time again.

Zynga, the company behind popular Facebook games such as Farmville and Cityville, is expected to have its initial public offering before the end of the year. Zynga is a phenomenon. More than 200 million people play its games each month. One person who doesn't feel Zynga's success is cause for celebration is video game designer Ian Bogost. Bogost thinks Zynga's games are mindless, designed to suck money out of players' pockets. To make his point he created a parody game of his own. As On the Media's P.J.

Italy's new prime minister, Mario Monti, said Friday that he'll meet with other European leaders next week to lay out his plans for reforming Italy's economy. Investors have been growing more concerned about Italy's ability to pay off its debts — and that's driven the cost of borrowing higher. But Italy's problems won't be easy to fix. The country has seen its growth rate slow to a crawl in recent decades, and unemployment — especially among the young — has risen. Jim Zarroli

Melissa Block speaks with our regular political commentators, E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution and David Brooks of The New York Times.

Melissa Block talks with John Seabrook, staff writer at The New Yorker. His latest article, "Crunch," delves into the world of the SweeTango — a new hybrid apple that is part Honeycrisp, part Zestar. It's sweet and tangy. There's a hint of cinnamon, a hint of pineapple and a whole lot of crunch.

While the professional basketball season is on the verge of collapse, Major League Baseball and its players wrapped up a new contract. Guy Raz talks with sportswriter Stefan Fatsis about what's next in the NBA negotiations and what's new for baseball with this agreement.

The Roman Catholic Church is about to buy a beacon of Protestant televangelism.

The Crystal Cathedral, a temple of glass in Garden Grove, Calif., will be sold to the Catholic Church for $57 million — a decision that left some congregants furious and their future up in the air.

When the Crystal Cathedral declared bankruptcy last year, it soon became clear that the legendary building would have to be sold. There were several offers, but in the end, the church's board favored the Catholic diocese in Orange County.