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Vladimir Putin has been the most powerful figure in Russia for 12 years and is expected to win the presidential election Sunday. But heading into the polls, many Russians are angry with what they see as recent electoral fraud and rampant corruption.

The critics of Vladimir Putin have been growing more vocal. But the current prime minister does not appear to face any serious challengers and looks set to win a third term as president as Russians choose a new leader in an election Sunday.

Saturday marks the first anniversary of the fall of Hosni Mubarak. Last February, millions of jubilant Egyptians poured out onto the streets across the Arab country. That mood has given way to widespread frustration. Host Scott Simon talks to NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson about the state in Egypt.

Brad Pitt has had quite a year: Two of his films — Moneyball and The Tree of Life — are up for the Best Picture Oscar, and the baseball film earned him a Best Actor nod. Pitt says the Oakland A's manager's idiosyncrasies made the role interesting.

The son of a communist revolutionary hero who was later imprisoned, Xi Jinping is set to become China's next leader. Family members and friends paint a portrait of a humble man with an appetite for knowledge, who is an efficient administrator and an open-minded politician.

Slogans for Las Vegas restaurant the Heart Attack Grill include "Taste worth dying for." But the burger joint's shtick of serving "quadruple bypass" burgers collided with reality Saturday, when a patron suffered a heart attack while eating at the restaurant.

Last weekend, Mitt Romney narrowly defeated Ron Paul in the Maine caucuses. But rural Washington County, considered a Paul stronghold by his supporters, delayed its caucus until this Saturday because of bad weather. Even though the state party will not revise the straw poll total, Paul's supporters are defiant.

NBA supernova Jeremy Lin reportedly slept on one before the Knicks' winning streak. And Steve Jobs obsessed over finding the perfect specimen for his living room. During many periods of our lives, the sofa is at the epicenter. It is home base, North Star, study carrel, dining booth and royal throne rolled into one.

It starts with an ordinary legal pad made by a company that's been around for more than a century. This is the first of two stories we're doing today on Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney helped found.

And for his alleged crime, James Summers of Madison, Wis., gets written up in one of the funniest police reports ever.