Stories of the Week | PBS NewsHour Podcast | PBS

In Mohsin Hamid's new novel, "How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia," a poor young boy from an impoverished village makes his way to a city to find his fortune. Jeffrey Brown talks with Hamid about why the story is told like a self-help book and why he writes to better understand the current culture and conditions in Pakistan.

Returning from combat, many veterans face another battle: waiting for medical claims to be processed. A recent report found that 245,000 veterans wait a year or more for help from the Veterans Administration. Hari Sreenivasan talks with veterans and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki about the delays and backlog.

The Obama administration announced a proposal requiring two-thirds less sulfur in gasoline and a reduction in other emissions beginning in 2017. Judy Woodruff and Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post discuss the announcement and why it's getting support from auto manufacturers but opposition from the oil and gas industry.

In other news Friday, a grand jury in Atlanta indicted former school superintendent Beverly Hall and 34 others in a cheating scandal. Also, Christians around the world observed Good Friday.

Kim Jong-un, leader of North Korea, ordered his generals to get rockets ready to strike the U.S. mainland or military bases in the Pacific. Ray Suarez gets analysis from Joel Wit of Johns Hopkins University and Sung-Yoon Lee of Tufts University on why North Korea has ratcheted up its rhetoric.

A recent study found that schools with high levels of teasing and bullying had dropout rates above the national average. In Seattle, a program called Roots of Empathy is using an unconventional method to stop bullying -- bringing infants into the classroom to demonstrate the importance of listening and caring for other people.

While the sequester debate continues in Washington, communities in parts of the country are already feeling the automatic budget reductions. Cathy Lewis of WHRO reports from Southeastern Virginia on how furloughs and cutbacks could affect the backbone of the local economy.

Aspects of religion and morality have been used as the basis for arguments by both sides of the debate on same-sex marriage. Ray Suarez talks with Michael Schuenemeyer, minister for the United Church of Christ, and Richard Langer, a minister with the Evangelical Free Church of America, to learn how they've approached the topic.

Why are some of America's top academic achievers are missing out on a shot to attend the best universities? As part of the PBS NewsHour's continuing coverage on inequality in U.S., Jeffrey Brown talks with Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University, an author of a new study on the issue, and Michele Minter of Princeton University.

In Washington state's Puget Sound, scientists have made discovery of a "toxic cocktail," made up of excess rainfall that flows into the nearest body of water, carrying pollutants along with it. Kate Campbell from KCTS-9 in Seattle reports on efforts to prevent that runoff from making it into the sound.

A new art installation brings new light to San Francisco Bay. The Bay Bridge, which connects San Francisco and Oakland, is the focus of a new public art display featuring thousands of LED technology lights. NewsHour correspondent Spencer Michels has the story of the high-tech work of art.

Following his historic election, Pope Francis' first day was no-nonsense, as he collected his belongings before moving into his new life as pontiff. The 76-year-old Argentine native is the first non-European pope in 12 centuries, though he is the son of Italian immigrants. Jonathan Rugman of Independent Television News reports.

In other news Thursday, the Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee approved a new ban on assault weapons. Also, President Barack Obama met with both Senate Republicans and House Democrats on Capitol Hill to push a long-term budget agreement.

China officially installed Xi Jinping, already the Communist Party leader, as president for the next 10 years. Judy Woodruff talks to Kenneth Lieberthal of the Brookings Institution and Gordon Chang, an author and a contributor to Forbes, about contentious issues of trade, defense, and cyber security for China and the U.S.

Women in combat zones are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by the enemy. Of nearly 4,000 reports of sexual assault in the military last year, only 191 defendants were convicted. Judy Woodruff reports on testimony from male and female sexual assault victims about attacks they suffered while in the military.