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Paul Ryan gained national attention and praise from conservatives with bold proposals to cut the deficit and balance the budget. But critics say the Republican vice presidential nominee's talk doesn't match his record. To others, he is more a small-government conservative than a deficit hawk.

One overlooked part of the convention frenzy was the party platforms. They seemed to cause more embarrassment than excitement at the DNC, where party leaders fumbled at reinserting clauses about Jerusalem and God into their platform. And at the RNC, Rep. John Boehner admitted he'd never even read his party's platform. NPR senior Washington editor Ron Elving joins weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz to talk about the platforms and what — if anything — they mean in 2012.

The non-partisan advocacy group Common Cause has filed a law suit with the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to get the Senate's use of the filibuster declared unconstitutional. Weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz speaks with Common Cause president Bob Edgar.

Low-glycemic foods that take awhile to digest may help keep weight off longer than other diets. The low-glycemic diet comes out on top in a new study that compared to the low-carb diet and the low fat diet.

A recent study found 1 in 10 American men and 1 in 14 women has had a kidney stone. Being obese or diabetic seems to raise the risk of getting them. Now lasers are becoming the treatment-of-choice for kidney stones in academic medical centers.

Foreign policy hasn't been a major focus this election season, but whoever wins will face a delicate tangle of issues in the region. On top of a major decision about Iran, the U.S. must deal with a new government in Egypt, an intensifying war in Syria, and nervous allies in the Persian Gulf.

For more than 40 years, Pablo Picasso's Seated Woman with Red Hat went unnoticed in the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science's storage area. Now that it's resurfaced, the Indiana museum says it can't afford to insure the multimillion-dollar artwork.

The notorious prison at Bagram Air Base outside Kabul has been officially handed over to Afghan officials by U.S. military officials. But questions remain about whether some of its prisoners — including "high value" Taliban operatives — will remain under U.S. control. Afghan President Hamid Karzai had demanded control of the prison known as the Parwan detention facility before he signs a status of forces agreement with the United States.

The U.S. government has announced it will sell at least $18 billion worth of shares of American International Group. During the financial crisis in 2008, the struggling insurance company was rescued with a government bailout. The federal government became AIG's majority stakeholder, but had promised that it was not a long-term investor.

After his big convention speech Thursday and the weak job numbers Friday, President Obama hit the campaign trail. He spent the weekend on a bus tour of Florida.