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President-elect Barack Obama comes from the same city and state as Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and it was the Obama seat in the Senate that Blagojevich is accused of trying to sell. Is it possible this scandal will leave the new president unsinged?

The chief U.S. diplomat in Africa ratcheted up the language against Zimbabwe's longtime president Robert Mugabe on Sunday. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer says the United States won't lift sanctions against that country until Mugabe is gone. NPR's Charlayne Hunter-Gault talks to host Andrea Seabrook about the developments.

Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom has begun shutting off natural gas supplies to Ukraine after a deadline passed for talks over a price dispute. There are fears that the cutoff could affect gas deliveries to parts of Europe at the height of the winter season. In 2006, Moscow cut off supplies to Ukraine and caused a brief disruption in gas supplies to Europe. NPR's Gregory Feifer talks with Steve Inskeep about Gazprom's decision.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews The Class, the Oscar-nominated French film about a high school class in an impoverished Paris neighborhood.

Michael Steele, the new head of the Republican Party, found himself in hot water again with his fellow Republicans when he told a GQ reporter that women have a right to choose an abortion. The comments could have political implications.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner went to Capitol Hill on Thursday with expansive plans to reduce "systemic risk" in the financial system. He called for new rules and better referees. And he was met with skepticism, particularly from Republicans.

President Barack Obama's budget proposal is placing conservative Democrats in a tight spot. Republicans are asking them to be fiscally cautious. Liberals are targeting them with a barrage of ads, urging them to support the president's budget.

General Motors and Chrysler say they need to trim their network of franchises so when they emerge from bankruptcy proceedings they will be successful. In a Senate hearing Wednesday, lawmakers questioned whether the companies are abandoning the loyal dealerships and consumers who have supported them.

In Washington, it was a crucial day of meetings between the leaders of the United States, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari huddled first with Secretary of State Clinton and later with President Obama and made a number of key commitments.

President Obama is expected to nominate federal appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. She would be the first Hispanic justice. If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor would succeed retiring Justice David Souter.