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The NCAA today handed down a series of penalties against Penn State University that include a ban from post-season football bowl games for four years, a $60 million fine, the loss of Joe Paterno's victories from 1998-2011, and the loss of football scholarships, over its handling of a sex abuse scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach. For more on this development, Steve Inskeep talks to NPR's Joel Rose.

Last week's rampage at a Colorado movie theater has left many looking for answers about how people can commit such deadly acts of violence. Host Michel Martin speaks with Dave Cullen, journalist and author of Columbine, and psychiatrist Dr. Carl Bell about what we conclusions we should be careful not to draw in the aftermath of the Colorado shooting.

With the London 2012 Opening Ceremony just days away, armies of costumed performers are rehearsing in Olympic Park. They offer clues to the big show, which organizers are trying to keep under wraps.

Spain's recession has deepened and Spanish borrowing rates are at the highest level since the euro was introduced in 1999. Walter Russell Mead of The American Interest and Steven Erlanger of the New York Times talk about the long-term political effects of the euro crisis.

Elton John spent the 1980s watching loved ones die from HIV and AIDS. Then he met Ryan White, a young hemophiliac shunned after he contracted HIV. White's struggle and death marked a turning point for John, who has since grown into a vocal advocate for AIDS research, prevention and treatment.

The Olympic Games doesn't just seem like one of the most tradition-bound sporting events in the world — it is. But that doesn't mean the sporting events are written in stone. Some past duds:

The Supreme Court decision that made the expansion of Medicaid optional for states will result in 3 million fewer people getting coverage. And that will also reduce the overall price tag of the law over the next decade by about $84 billion.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's criticism of the Obama White House for intelligence leaks were picked up by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. This didn't please Feinstein, who backed away from some of her statements.

Law scholars said the decision amounted to a "major embarrassment" for the U.S. government.

Black high school students are engaging in risky sexual behavior far less often than they were 20 years ago, a study found. But their condom use is also dropping, leading some to worry that HIV rates within the black community may not go down.