NPR News

The Oakland A's are headed to the playoffs for the first time in six years, and Washington's Nationals brought the pennant home for the first time since the Senators did it back in 1933. NPR's Mike Pesca talks about the surprises, the end of the baseball season and the outlook for the playoffs.

Elections in Georgia, Ukraine and Lithuania are being closely watched in the West as a test of whether former Soviet states will shift closer to Russia. Russian president Vladimir Putin, for his part, has made political, economic and security reintegration of former Soviet republics a priority.

With the presidential election a month away, the Court may soon weigh in on several contentious cases. Los Angeles Times Supreme Court correspondent David Savage talks about the upcoming session and whether the Court can insulate itself from the heat of this political season.

Pope Benedict XVI's former butler took the stand at his trial Tuesday and offered a somewhat contradictory message: He declared himself innocent of stealing papal documents, but acknowledged betraying the trust of Pope Benedict XVI.

As NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports, Paolo Gabriele, 46, is charged with stealing documents pointing to corruption and power struggles with the church. Prosecutors say Gabriele has confessed to giving the material to an Italian journalist, and that his motive was to expose "evil and corruption" in the church.