Men can be forgiven for being confused over screening for prostate cancer. Doctors are confused, too.

When it comes to figuring out if the benefits are worth the risks, the simplest solutions may not be best, a study of the options finds.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan.

And now, a look beyond Baltimore and Beyonce to the enduring possibilities of an ephemeral event. When the lights went out at Superdome on Sunday, Twitter lit up. Advertising teams from several companies tried to capitalize with instant ads. Like many of the regular ads, almost of these flopped, but one produced an idea that people are still buzzing about, Oreo cookies. If you work in the ad business, how does social media changed the game? Give us a call, 800-989-8255. Email: talk@npr.org.

While the economy will benefit from continued improvement in "underlying" conditions, the federal government's push to tighten its spending will slow overall growth in 2013, the Congressional Budget Office projects.

In an updated "Budget and Economic Outlook" reported released Tuesday afternoon, the agency forecasts:

-- 1.4 percent growth in gross domestic product this year, vs. 2.3 percent in 2012.

-- 2.6 percent growth in 2014.

-- 4.1 percent growth in 2015.

The Pew Hispanic Center estimates that there are millions of people living in mixed-immigration-status families in the U.S. Immigration attorney Kamal Essaheb and Center for Public Integrity reporter Susan Ferriss discuss the challenges these families face.

In the debate on gun control, self-protection and the protection of others are commonly cited justifications for gun ownership. NPR's Neal Conan talks with guests about what happens when a person draws a gun on another individual.

The Texas Education Agency has suspended issuing ratings for school districts this year as students get used to the new state exam. Three schools and one school district, who would have had their public school status revoked, have been given what amounts to a stay of execution because of the suspension.

The schools in question are:

From Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to Cairo, to the ongoing violence in Syria, Rami Khouri, columnist for Beirut's Daily Star recaps developments in the Middle East and reflects on lessons learned two years after the Arab Spring.

On February 3, 1863, a Confederate assault led by Major General Joseph Wheeler failed to dislodge a Union fortification at Ft. Donelson on the Cumberland River.  The purpose of the attack had been to disrupt Union shipping.