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Police say a man had a knife, and confronted the woman behind the counter when he walked into Pop's Barbecue in New Iberia, La. Rather than just give up the money, she grabbed a pot that was on a counter, and whacked him again and again. The robber ran away.

Video games are getting better in terms of quality, so why are sales falling month after month? David Greene talks to Chris Kohler, who writes about video games for Wired Magazine. The two examine the trends and new technologies reshaping this big, and growing industry.

Among the hundreds of buildings that crumbled in Haiti's 2010 earthquake was the National Palace. The Haitian government announced Tuesday that demolition of the National Palace will begin soon. A non-profit aid group founded by actor Sean Penn will pay the bill, though it's not clear what will replace the palace.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

A deadline came and went yesterday and Todd Akin remains on the ballot for United States Senate in Missouri. On a radio program, the Republican said his party was overreacting in the effort to drive him out of the race.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

In Kentucky yesterday, there was another sign of Tea Party clout. Mitch McConnell - minority leader in the U.S. Senate, and Kentucky's most powerful politician - turned up at his first-ever Tea Party rally. [POST-BROADCAST CORRECTION: This was not McConnell's first Tea Party rally. He participated in a Tea Party event in 2010.] This year, Tea Party candidates have scored upsets in Republican primaries in Missouri, Texas and Indiana. That's where longtime Senator Richard Lugar lost.

President Obama has been campaigning among college students. In Nevada and Ohio Tuesday, he told them his policies are better than his opponents for keeping higher education affordable.

With the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics on the horizon, all eyes are on Brazil now. But there are problems with construction delays and a lack of infrastructure. David Greene talks to Fernando Rodrigues, Brasilia-based columnist for Brazil's Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, about the challenges Brazil faces.

Congress hasn't agreed on a budget for the next fiscal year. So President Obama is extending a two-year pay freeze for federal workers. That means no raises for federal employees at least until next spring. That's when a short-term budget deal runs out.

What your next smart phone or tablet computer might look like is in the hands of a California jury. In one of the biggest patent infringement cases ever, Apple is suing Samsung — charging that in creating its products, Samsung ripped off iPhone and iPad technology. Samsung countered with its own allegations.

This case is complex, the legal issues are daunting, and the jury's decision has to be unanimous.

"What's at stake here is the future of smartphones and the tablet market," says intellectual property expert Christopher V. Carani.