Five days after a cruise liner slammed into rocks off Italy's Tuscan coast, the country is gripped by the contrasting profiles of two key figures in the drama — the captain charged with abandoning ship and the captain who demanded he get back onboard.

For many Italians, the accident has become a metaphor for a country that sees itself mired in economic and moral decline.

Francesco Schettino, the disgraced captain of the 1,000-foot-long floating palace known as the Costa Concordia, is under house arrest on suspicion of multiple manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship.

Governor Jay Nixon delivered his annual State of the State Address last night Tuesday night.  He touched briefly on the state budget and other issues, while spending lots of time showcasing his administration’s accomplishments and praising the values of Missouri citizens as he prepares for his re-election bid this fall.  Marshall Griffin recaps the address from Jefferson City:

Regional news from the KBIA newsroom, including:

• Nixon's state of state address presents budget with wide cuts
• Nixon to reduce state employee roster
• Proposed state constitutional amendment would eliminate tenure in public schools

We saw stories earlier this week about a man who was lost for two nights in Mount Rainier National Park over the weekend, but survived in part because he burned the money he was carrying to keep warm as a blizzard blew through the area.

But a critical question wasn't answered until today. — how much money went up in flames?

This week:  Harvest Public Media speaks with a University of Nebraska Educator who just returned from Afghanistan where he helped teach Afghanis farming techniques, and the FDA is looking to change the way Cephalosporins are used for animals.  

Countering Mitt Romney's announcement that he paid 15 percent in taxes, Newt Gingrich said his bill came to 31 percent, more than most Americans pay and closer to the top rate of 35 percent.

The AP reports that Gingrich was careful not to criticize Romney for paying a lower tax rate than most Americans.

"My goal is not to raise Mitt Romney's taxes, but to let everyone pay Romney's rate," he said according to the AP.

Emotions can be hard to gauge in the beginning of any romantic relationship. But for people with autism, who often struggle to interpret social cues, romance can be particularly challenging to navigate. And for some, the prospect of loving and being loved seems out of reach.

In 1994, three teens were convicted of the murder of three boys in West Memphis, Ark. The trial drew national attention, due in part to the documentary series Paradise Lost. The "West Memphis Three" appealed their convictions and were released from prison in August 2011.

Wikipedia Leads Protest on Piracy Bills

Jenna Wortham, The New York Times: "Protest on Web Uses Shutdown to Take On Two Piracy Bills"

Evan Hansen, Wired.com: "Why We've Censored Wired.com"