Search results for

Exiled former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says he will challenge President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in elections this fall, even as Musharraf considers a power-sharing agreement with another rival that would have him stepping down as head of the army.

The Senate is expected to pass legislation that would expand the number of embryonic stem-cell lines eligible for federal research funding. The House passed similar legislation, but a presidential veto is expected.

Documents relating to the late-night hospital room standoff between the Justice Department and the White House over the domestic spying program suggest that Vice President Dick Cheney punished a DOJ official who stood in the way of the reauthorization of the controversial program.

The Bush administration has announced plans to replace Gen. Peter Pace as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Rather than risk a Senate confirmation struggle by reappointing Pace, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he would recommend Adm. Mike Mullen to replace him.

Democratic leaders are to meet Wednesday with President Bush to discuss war funds. Congress is likely to send the president a funding bill with a timeline for troop withdrawal. The president says he will veto any such bill.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is refusing to resign Monday after a special commission harshly criticized his leadership during last July's war in Lebanon. The two Israeli soldiers whose kidnapping sparked the war in Lebanon are still not free.

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's Capitol Hill colleagues react to news of his malignant brain tumor with sadness, prayers and disbelief. Some are contemplating what Congress might look like without one of the Senate's most prolific legislators.

Recovery efforts in Dujiangyan, China are also focused on hydropower dams around the ancient city. The epicenter of last week's massive earthquake was near the huge Zipingpu dam, cracking its walls. Officials say Zipingpu is structurally safe and are releasing water to decrease pressure. Scientists warn that if the dam fails, the destruction would be even greater than the quake. NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with NPR's Melissa Block.

The Senate is taking up the $700 billion plan to rescue Wall Street. Benton Ives, economics and finance reporter for the Congressional Quarterly, says the legislation is largely the same as the one the House rejected Monday, but with added tax breaks and an increase on the deposit insurance cap.

The U.S. House passed the rescue package, paving the way for the government to start buying up troubled assets from financial institutions caught on the wrong side of record home foreclosures. Brian Naylor discusses the new bill.