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Weekends on All Things Considered guest host Laura Sullivan speaks with NPR reporter Joseph Shapiro about the sentence of Shirley Ree Smith's "shaken baby" case. California Gov. Jerry Brown has commuted Smith's sentence. Despite her claims of innocence, Smith was convicted in December 1997, and has been free since 2006 awaiting the results of her appeals.

Eddie Alterman, an editor for Car and Driver magazine, says he doesn't want to live in a world without stick shift vehicles. "It's a world without guys building treehouses for their kids. It's a world without train sets. It's a world without fun." Alterman has started a movement to save the manual shift.

Americans are now consuming more chicken than beef or pork. To help meet the demand, Texas has become the sixth biggest state in poultry production. But more chickens mean more waste, and more pollution.

Four major universities — Stanford, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and University of Michigan — are joining forces with a startup called Coursera to offer free online classes in more than three-dozen subjects. The professors involved hope this kind of online interaction transforms higher education.

More refugees are fleeing the fighting in Syria. Lynn Neary talks to European Union Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva about what officials are doing to help the internally displaced, and those who have fled to neighboring countries.

Crop insurance is a sticky issue in the debate over the shape of the farm bill this year. But what if a simplified version of the program could save taxpayers billions of dollars? One economist says it could.

The former Liberian president was convicted of aiding and abetting war crimes in Sierra Leone this week. More than 50,000 people were killed during the 11-year conflict, and in Sierra Leone, the verdict was celebrated. But in Liberia's capital, many believe he has been used as a scapegoat for another country's war.

Afghan soldiers are taking a more prominent role in the country's security operations, slowly winning the respect of ordinary Afghan citizens. But, the soldiers say, they aren't receiving the same respect or thanks from the government: benefits go missing and proper medical treatment is often scarce.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned on Tuesday that the U.S. will likely hit its debt limit sometime before the end of the year. At the same event in Washington, House Speaker John Boehner promised that any increase in the nation's debt ceiling would have to be accompanied by corresponding budget reductions. .

Florida prosecutors have released hundreds of documents, recordings and pictures related to the George Zimmerman trial. Zimmerman is the neighborhood watch captain who shot and killed Trayvon Martin after the two scuffled.