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There's no evidence that it appeals to voters, but a pair of politicians gave the cameras an upthrust middle finger this week. The German candidate tweeted a defense of his gesture, saying: "Straight talk doesn't always need words."

Many Americans are now living longer, but one group is being left behind. The average life expectancy for white women who dropped out of high school is shorter than it was two decades ago. Host Michel Martin finds out more from Monica Potts, a journalist at The American Prospect.

It's been 75 years since the U.S. instituted a federal minimum wage, but the debate is as hot as ever. Host Michel Martin speaks with Brian Parker, owner of a Detroit-area fast food restaurant, who's decided to pay his employees double the minimum wage. Also joining them is NPR's business editor Marilyn Geewax.

Conservationists hailed the move, because Hong Kong represents 50 percent of the shark fin trade. The country said it hoped the policy would raise public awareness about sustainability.

Next week, a salvage crew plans to rotate and raise the Costa Concordia cruise ship, in one of the biggest maritime salvage operations ever undertaken. The huge vessel has been partially submerged off Giglio Island since an accident in January 2012 that killed 32 people.

Evangeline Ordaz is responsible for the hit Hulu series East Los High. She's also working on a new play about changing LA demographics.

President Obama's approach to Syria has taken a number of surprising twists and turns in the weeks since a poison gas attack in August. A surprise agreement between Russia and the U.S. on a timetable for destroying Syria's weapons is the latest in what appears at times to be an unscripted drama.

This week, a group of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, many with disabilities, marked Sept. 11 by climbing two peaks in Yosemite National Park. Climbing as a team, they say, gives them an opportunity to recapture what they miss about the military: a sense of camaraderie with a shared challenge.

Terry McMillan, the best-selling author of How Stella Got Her Groove Back, tells NPR's Scott Simon that she writes because she wishes she were a magician. She shows off her tricks in Who Asked You?, a novel with many narrators — including a woman named BJ and her husband, children and grandkids.

In a plan announced Saturday, the U.S. and Russia would give Syria a week to detail its chemical weapons arsenal. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart reached the deal on the third day of talks in Geneva.