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President Obama and Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan spoke Friday at the annual AARP convention in New Orleans, Medicare and Social Security topped the agenda for both. NPR's Ina Jaffe reports the organization represents millions of older Americans, who are among the most reliable voters.

NPR's Ari Shapiro joins host Scott Simon to preview a pair of pieces he's reported for next week on the political ad wars. He talks about the unprecedented number of ads, the money and how it feels in one community: Colorado Springs.

Mitt Romney released his 2011 tax return Friday, along with a summary of the tax rates he has paid over the past 20 years. NPR's John Ydstie reports Romney apparently paid more than he had to.

In South Africa, thousands of mineworkers have embarked on industrial action that began with a deadly pay strike by platinum workers. They've agreed a wage deal with their management, this week, but the labor unrest is spreading to other platinum and gold mines in an industry that's the engine of South Africa's economy. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton discusses the repercussions with host Scott Simon.

Fifty years ago, Charles de Gaulle traveled to Ludwigsburg, Germany, to declare "Long live Bonn, long live Germany, long live the Franco-German friendship." NPR's Philip Reeves reports on the state of the Franco-German friendship in this time of euro debt crisis.

The Chicago teachers' strike came to an end this week. Host Scott Simon speaks with Education Secretary Arne Duncan about the resolution.

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The campaign still has a chance to brush off recent stumbles, according to political strategist Steve Schmidt. He says Mitt Romney's team needs to refocus and make its case more effectively, with the upcoming debates as a key platform.

Fresh Air Weekend

The Gaza Strip will be unlivable by 2020 if nothing is done to alleviate the situation there, a recent U.N. report found. By almost every indicator, Palestinians in Gaza today are worse off than they were in the 1990s — squeezed by a high birthrate, dwindling resources and trade and travel restrictions.