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Faced with harsh criticism over its vast surveillance operation, the NSA and its allies are pushing back. They say their intelligence collection is being done in response to demands from the executive branch of the U.S. government and not on its own. The NSA says it is currently working on 36,000 pages of what it calls "requirements" — intel speak for intelligence assignments it gets from branches of the U.S. government.

The sharing economy is already changing several sectors: housing, transportation, retail. In some cities, it's changing the way we work. As more people start their own enterprises, they're shunning traditional offices and choosing to share space instead.

The Obama administration says just about 100,000 people managed to choose health plans through the federal and state health exchanges during their first month of the program. Critics say that shows the law is failing. But most analysts say the first month's numbers wouldn't have meant very much, even if the federal website had been working properly.

The first woman to be nominated to head the Federal Reserve takes the witness chair on Capitol Hill Thursday morning for her confirmation hearing. Janet Yellen's challenge will be to reassure her Democratic supporters that she's focused on job creation, while convincing at least a few Republicans that she'll keep inflation in check.

Dunkin' Donuts offers a discount for police. But one supposed police officer returned multiple times and even brought his family in for some treats. The manager suspected he was no cop; the real police caught up to him.

Steve Inskeep talks to Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California about the lower-than-expected number of Americans who successfully signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. A growing group of Democrats are backing a Republican plan to delay the penalties or allow Americans to keep their current plans.

The Obama Administration says slightly more than 106,000 people signed up for health care through new exchanges between October 1 and November 1. Host Michel Martin speaks with Kaiser Health News' Mary Agnes Cary about why the number is so low, and what the president says he's doing about it.

Dern's new film follows a man named Woody who is starting to show signs of dementia. When Woody falls for one of those junk-mail sweepstakes come-ons, he becomes convinced that he's won $1 million and sets out on foot to collect the cash. Dern tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross, "[Nebraska] is the most personal movie I've ever done in my career."

Unlike the technologies in laptops, smartphones and electric cars, the batteries inside them have been slow to evolve. In Silicon Valley, more than 40 companies are working on finding a battery breakthrough. And they're facing international competition.

Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra music director Raymond Harvey focuses on the special qualities of two great masterworks that will be performed Friday night…