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The controversy over the National Security Agency's surveillance programs has exposed a problem in the oversight of those programs. Changes to adapt have come so fast that legislators, judges, policymakers and technology firms can't keep up, and major gaps have appeared in policymaking and legislating.

In the latest edition of Word of Mouth, NPR's Steve Inskeep gets recommendations from Daily Beast editor Tina Brown on the subject of survival.

The cleanup continues across the Midwest, where dozens of tornadoes struck on Sunday. The Illinois town of Washington appears to have been hardest hit. The mayor says as many as 500 homes were damaged or destroyed by a tornado that cut a path about an eighth of a mile wide from one side of the town to the other.

Researchers think an increase in commuting may be partly to blame for widespread political disengagement among many Americans. As stressed-out commuters disengage, they leave the political arena to the most partisan voters.

It can be tough to stop the plague from spreading in rural Uganda because most villages don't have medical doctors to diagnose the deadly infection. But healers and herbalists are common. A scientist has trained them to detect the illness and refer patients for modern treatment.

Video games are increasingly seen as a deep, artistic medium, as much as a form of entertainment. But behind the big-budget behemoths of the video game industry sits the growing and expanding market of independent video games. These are games created by small teams and even solo developers.

The university said the game was "completely out of line." The Young Conservatives of Texas called off the game, citing the condemnation.

The severe storms that swept through Illinois, Michigan and other states left at least eight people dead. Thousands more had their homes destroyed or ruined. With cold weather coming, reconstruction will be delayed.

New figures show women have more jobs in the U.S. than ever before - but men are still struggling to pull out of the recession. Host Michel Martin speaks with NPR senior business editor Marilyn Geewax, and Ariane Hegewisch from the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

veThe storm struck on Nov. 8 and some remote islands have yet to be reached. It's been difficult to get help to some survivors and to account for the dead. As of Tuesday, the official death toll stood at nearly 4,000. Among them were at least 5 Americans.