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Secretary of State John Kerry sets off for what he calls "a long overdue" trip to Russia on Monday, and Syria is likely to top the agenda. But U.S.-Russian relations are frosty these days. The U.S. is imposing targeted sanctions on Russian human rights violators, while Moscow is preventing American families from adopting Russian children.

Pick any place on the map and you're likely to find dynasty politics in full bloom. And just wait until the 2016 presidential election, where many of the top prospects are from America's most prominent political families.

Steve Inskeep talks with Boston Globe columnist Juliette Kayyem about city officials' decision to lock down Boston on Friday as law enforcement searched for a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing. Kayyem is a former top homeland security official.

The Utah Data Center, 26 miles south of Salt Lake City, will begin operations in September. Though the NSA director has said it won't hold data on U.S. citizens, privacy advocates worry about the agency's expanding capabilities.

Steve Inskeep talks to Richard McGregor of the Financial Times about Treasury Secretary Jack Lew's trip to China. He bought a long list of economic agenda items to his meetings with top officials, ranging from cyberwarfare to China's currency controls.

In Rwanda, nearly two-thirds of Parliament consists of women, a trend that developed after the country's genocide. Cuba is third, with women making up 50 percent of its legislators. The U.S. is 99th.

Top Democrats have said recently that some GOP opposition to President Obama and his agenda is based on race. It's an explosive message that might drive Democratic voters to the polls.

Mitt Romney flies to Israel this weekend on the second leg of his overseas tour. He'll meet with top Israeli officials as well as the Palestinian prime minister. The Republican presidential candidate is using the trip to court the Jewish vote, which went overwhelmingly for Barack Obama in 2008.

By some measures, General Motors is doing fine post-bailout and post-bankruptcy. The company is profitable and makes better cars than it did a generation ago. But its stock price is down sharply, and it still doesn't have a blockbuster car like its competitors Toyota, Honda and Ford.

The bicycle sport is grueling, with riders traversing off-road courses dotted with obstacles. It's still little-known in the U.S., but is growing fast. Louisville, Ky., hosts the world championship competition this weekend — the first such event held outside of Europe.