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TENZIN SHAKYA: Gay marriage has become a divisive issue within the Republican Party since the November elections. Just last week, over 130 prominent members of the GOP signed legal briefs challenging the Defense of Marriage Act. I spoke with Bill Kristol, editor of the political magazine The Weekly Standard, and a political commentator on Fox News. He says it’s a healthy debate to have, but that a majority of the party members still oppose it.

Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney had breakfast with Mayor Michael Bloomberg earlier this week in Manhattan. President Obama had lunch with the mayor at the White House a few weeks ago. The obvious agenda: both the president and his challenger want Bloomberg’s endorsement. I spoke with Lois Romano, who writes for Politico, about the candidates’ courtship of the notoriously independent mayor.

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Peg Tyre book examines how to assess schools and teachers, beyond test scores.

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Charles Taylor was convicted of war crimes for sponsoring rebels during Sierra Leone's civil war. AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, File

Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, is now a convicted war criminal. An international tribunal at the Hague found Taylor guilty of committing murder, rape, slavery and the use of child soldiers during Sierra Leone’s civil war in the 1990s. Taylor is the first head of state to be convicted by an international court since Hitler’s successor stood trial following World War Two. Leanna Orr spoke with Peter Rosenblum, a professor of human rights law at Columbia University, about the significance of Taylor’s conviction.

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Hugo Chavez waves to supporters from a balcony at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo by Ariana Cubillos, AP

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BY MACKENZIE ISSLER

It is an election year in Venezuela. President Hugo Chavez has been in power for 13 years and is facing a tough challenge from a united opposition. Chavez’s government also tends to identify the press as a principle adversary. Lawyer Oswaldo Mackenzie Issler talks to Cali, who works for the organization Espacio Publico, which defends freedom of expression and advocates for public information. Cali says Chavez has created a variety of obstacles for opposition media.

ACLU of Maryland wants a law prohibiting employers from logging in to job applicant’s facebook pages.

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BY JOHN LIGHT

The ACLU of Maryland is working with that state’s legislature to pass a law prohibiting employers from logging in to job applicant’s Facebook pages. The bill has passed the state senate, and is being considered by a committee in the house. John Light spoke with Melissa Goemann, the legislative director of the ACLU of Maryland. Light asked her, first, to explain the scenario that peaked the ACLU’s interest in social media privacy. Goemann told him the story of a man named Robert Collins.

In this image released by Palisades Tartan, Jafar Panahi is shown in a scene from "This is Not a Film." Photo by Palisades Tartan, AP.

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BY WILL SLOAN

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi started using his digital camera to create a documentary self-portrait after he was confined to house arrest and banned from directing for 20 years. He cheekily titled it “This Is Not a Film.” Panahi’s documentary was smuggled out of Iran on a USB drive inside a cake.

Panahi’s film opened in New York on Wednesday — three days after another Iranian film, “A Separation,” won the country its first Foreign Film Oscar.

I spoke to Jamsheed Akrami, a film professor and friend of Panahi. He said that as Iranian cinema reaches a higher international profile, its censorship practices are under greater scrutiny.

Jamsheed Akrami teaches film at William Patterson University. This Is Not a Film is playing at Film Forum.

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Syria has been a dangerous place for journalists since the government began cracking down on Arab Spring demonstrations last year. Long Island native and veteran war reporter Marie Colvin died on Wednesday when an artillery shell hit a makeshift press center in Homs. French photographer Remy Ochlik died along side her. Homs has been under heavy fire from government forces. Several injured reporters are still trapped in the besieged city.

NPR’s Middle East correspondent Deborah Amos just made a safe return from 6 weeks reporting on the conflict from Lebanon and Morocco. She was also in Syria for 5 days this fall.

BY LEANNA ORR

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The House and Senate passed an extension to the payroll tax cut on Feb. 17, reaching relatively quick agreement on an issue that was extremely divisive just two months ago.

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An American flag hangs over the rubble from the devastating tornado that struck Concord, Alabama on Wednesday. Photo by Wynter Byrd/AP.

The death toll for this week’s destructive tornado reached 318 across seven states on Friday, making it the deadliest day for twisters since 1932.

Linda Abi Assi spoke with Tanya Ott, the news director at the public radio station WBHM  in Birmingham, Alabama about the aftermath of the deadly storm. She also spoke with Jared Guyer, a meteorologist at the Storm Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric administration; he explained why the weather conditions on Wednesday were extremely rare.

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The Space Shuttle Endeavor was scheduled to lift off at 3:47 this afternoon. But the mission was scrubbed after NASA officials discovered a faulty heater around noon. The launch is postponed for at least 48 hours. When it does go up, it’ll be the last launch of the Space Shuttle program. Astronaut Stanley Love was part of the Atlantis shuttle mission in 2008. He says part of the reason NASA is ending the program is because it did not fully live up to expectations.

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The royal wedding was watched by an estimated 39 million people around the world. But for couples in the throws of wedding planning, the event today was as much a business story as one of romance. Karla Zabludovsky spoke with Amy Eisinger, an Associate Editor at the wedding channel.com. She says Kate and William’s wedding will influence everything, from dress styles to their unique choice of a Spring wedding.

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Today the United States began deploying remotely operated combat planes, called Predator Drones, in Libya.

These drones have been operating in Pakistan for some time.

But there are still ethical and logistical concerns about fighting a war in the Middle East from a control room in Nevada.

Robert Owen is a former combat pilot and Professor of Aeronautics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.  He says it’s important to remember that these aren’t robots with the power to kill – there is always a human being in control.

FILE - Mew York City Schools Chancellor Cathie Black at a school function. Photo by: Mark Lennihan / AP.

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The surprise resignation by Cathie Black from role as New York City school chief comes after 3 months on the job.  Black’s ratings as school chancellor were below 20% in one poll.

Now the mayor has picked a deputy mayor to run the schools.  Gianna Palmer speaks with Gary Anderson, a professor of Educational Administration at New York University about the context of the school shake-up.