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Ahead of next week's Boston Marathon, Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon talks with running coach and author Tom Derderian about the heightened expectations for this year's race and how the Boston Marathon earned its distinction as the "Holy Grail" for serious runners. Derderian is a member of the committee that set new qualifying standards for this year's marathon.

Congress voted to begin debate on a package of new gun control measures this week, passing a key procedural hurdle. But several proposals face a long road before reaching President Obama's desk. One proposal has garnered bipartisan support: additional measures targeting so-called "straw purchasers" and gun trafficking. Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon reports on why advocates say the new measures are necessary, and how one gun, purchased through a surrogate, ended up in the wrong hands.

The Americans and the Europeans have different approaches to horse racing, and one key split is over the question of doping. While many drugs are allowed in the U.S., they are banned in European racing.

In his new book, The Dispensable Nation, former State Department adviser Vali Nasr explores the state of U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan and beyond. Nasr says the U.S. "is happy ... to play a less important role, to no longer be the stabilizer."

Investigators are working to determine who is responsible for the explosions at the Boston Marathon. At least three people were killed. Sources told NPR it could take some time before officials can definitively say who was behind this.

At 17, Daniel Hodd was starting a promising career as a concert pianist, but he decided to become a Marine instead. Before his second deployment, he broke a finger and was given a choice: Treat it and stay, or cut it off and deploy.

Granta has published its once-a-decade list of the best young British novelists. It's a hefty volume that's showcased names like Salman Rushdie and David Mitchell in the past. This year's list is impressively diverse — though Granta editor John Freeman says that wasn't intentional.

In Venezuela, Hugo Chavez's hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, won a razor-thin victory in Sunday's special presidential election. He edged out the opposition's leader by only about 300,000 votes, electoral officials announced.

Starting this year, competitors in the National Spelling Bee will not only have to know how to spell a word, but they'll also have to know what it means.

Target is ousting its CEO, months after a massive data breach and amid some other business issues.