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One dominant theme of the trip will be how to resolve the crisis in Syria, where an estimated 70,000 people have been killed over the past two years. Kerry is portraying his first trip as secretary of state as a listening tour, and he certainly expects to hear a lot about Syria.

China has transformed itself in recent years. But for an NPR reporter now on his second tour of the country, some things, like re-education through labor camps, remain the same.

Domenica Ruta grew up in a working-class Massachusetts town with a mother who dreamed big — but also bashed in windshields with a baseball bat and hung around with drug dealers. Her new memoir, With or Without You, is a harrowing but beautifully written account of her life with — and her efforts to break away from — her mother.

Like many countries, Israel tried to drain many of its swamplands, then realized it was destroying wildlife habitats. So the country reversed course, and has been restoring the wetlands of the Hula Valley in the north. The result: a huge and rather noisy payoff.

Washington Post book critic Michael Dirda remembers finding a worn copy of the anthology Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural in the library as a young boy. He found the stories revelatory. Is there a scary story that made an impression on you when you were his age? Tell us in the comments.

Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin speaks with NPR National Political correspondent Mara Liasson about the week in politics, including the looming spending cuts facing Congress and the administration's urging of the Supreme Court to strike down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez returned last week from Cuba, but hasn't been seen since he was immediately whisked to a military hospital. It's unclear what his game plan is — be sworn in, resign and let his vice president take over? Die in his homeland? The questions is: What is Chavismo without Chavez?

Weekend Edition Sunday host Rachel Martin talks with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell about the potential impact of sequestration. McDonnell sent a letter to President Obama last week, urging him to find a way to avert the arbitrary federal spending cuts that are expected to hit Virginia particularly hard.

In Gerbrand Bakker's mysterious — and often menacing — story, a Welsh woman seeks refuge from her past. But as she hopes of strength, she is also quickly reminded of her own mortality. Ten White Geese, which was translated from Dutch, has become an international best-seller.

The Richmond, Va., neighborhood of Fulton was once home to a large number of the city's middle class African-American families. But by the 1960s, it had fallen on hard times. A new album by bluesman Corey Harris pays tribute to the Southern neighborhood with a haunted past.