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Athanasius Kircher, a 17th-century Jesuit priest, was a renaissance man in name and deed. He strove to learn about almost everything. Unfortunately, many of his inventions and theories were pure nonsense. John Glassie writes about Kircher in his new book, A Man of Misconceptions.

Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart all celebrate their 50th year of business this year. They were born after prohibitions against volume discounts and set prices broke down. Now the giant chains face one of their biggest challenges — evolving in the Internet age.

Overnight air raids on Gaza pushed the Palestinian death toll to more than 80, with more than 700 wounded. The numbers on the Israeli side are dramatically lower — with three dead. And the Israeli prime minister says Israel is prepared to escalate the fight with ground troops. As the fighting drags into a new week, the United Nations and the Arab League are stepping up efforts to mediate.

President Obama is in Myanmar — the first visit by a U.S. president to the country also known as Burma. The president's plan to stop there is controversial because of the continued ethnic violence in North West Myanmar. Critics say Burma's transition to democracy is far from complete.

For those who want to buy bling with bling, a bank in Kazakhastan plans to offer a Visa card made of gold plus a couple of dozen diamonds and mother of pearl. It will require $100,000 upfront, and an annual fee of $2,000 — but there are no late frees and you get a free iPhone.

Some men in the Castro District have for years liked to go without (clothes, that is) in public. One of the city's supervisors says he's been getting many complaints. Last year, he got a law passed requiring that the naked guys have towels ready to put down on benches. Now, he's looking to do more.

The damage from Sandy has cities across the country looking at their own disaster plans. Eight California state, city and county-level emergency managers deployed to help the recovery. They came back thinking about the basic logistical problems of hosting mutual aid officials from other parts of the country.

President Obama wraps up his Asia tour in Cambodia tomorrow. His trip included a historic visit to Myanmar, also known as Burma, making him the first sitting American president to visit that country. Guest host Celeste Headlee speaks with freelance reporter Michael Sullivan, about the significance of the president's trip.

Look at this rocket ship. It is big. It is complicated. We could use long words to describe what's in it, or we could use short words. The author, cartoonist Randall Munroe, chooses short words. Ridiculously short words. Some will sneer. I cheer.

What did Jesus look like? In their new book, The Color of Christ, Edward J. Blum and Paul Harvey explore how different groups have claimed Jesus as their own — and how depictions of Jesus have both inspired civil rights crusades, and been used to justify the violence of white supremacists.