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Venezuela, led by fiery, leftist president Hugo Chavez, is at the forefront of a political swing to the left that is sweeping much of Latin America. With its vast oil revenues, Venezuela carries a lot of clout in the region, and it has made alliances with nations that are most at odds with the United States.

President Biden has met the leaders of Australia, India and Japan. The White House said they would pledge to work together on global health, the climate, infrastructure, technology and other areas.

Professor Jon Levy went viral for wearing a mask during a Zoom call alone in his office. He has some thoughts about why.

North Korea says it's experiencing its first COVID outbreak. Experts are skeptical, but they are also wondering if this means the country will accept outside help or if it can handle it alone.

Bernard Ebbers, the former CEO of Worldcom, is sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in what authorities call the largest accounting fraud in U.S. history. Ebbers, 63, was found guilty on charges of securities and reporting fraud. He is expected to appeal.

Cousin to The Great British Baking Show, this pottery competition almost dares you to make fun of its aggressively earnest approach.

From the start of the war in Ukraine, food policy experts have worried that a hunger crisis could be in the making, given how important Ukraine and Russia are to global food supply.

Russia has long planned on expanding its oil drilling in the Arctic. But that relies on help from Western companies that are now pulling back because of the war in Ukraine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data this week showing drug overdoses killed more than 107,000 people last year.

Robert Siegel talks with Charles Snee, senior editor at Linn's Stamp News, about the recently rediscovered "Ice House" envelope, believed to be lost for 38 years and recently rediscovered in Chicago. It has the only known cover of an 1869 Abraham Lincoln 90-cent stamp.

The Biden administration is working to address the shortage of baby formula in the U.S. as it faces pressure in Congress to do more.

Many members of Congress had a personal stake in the past week's debate over federal funding for stem-cell research: someone near or dear is affected by a disease which such research might help cure.

The Base Closure and Realignment Commission this week will hold its first public hearing (in Rapid City, S.D.) since releasing its base closure list. Communities and congressional members that are facing changes are preparing to make their cases.

After Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her plans to retire, many legal experts began predicting who President Bush might choose to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court. Legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg reports on the names some expected to see on President Bush's list.

Stung by criticism that they reacted too slowly to Katrina, federal officials say they're working hard to avoid making the same mistakes twice. Already, President Bush has declared Hurricane Rita an "incident of national significance" -- which helps rally federal resources.

New York City's transit union called a strike Tuesday after failing to reach a deal with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The strike left more than 7 million people in and around the city looking for alternative ways to get around. Beth Fertig of member station WNYC reports.

Turkey hosts the longest stretch of a new transnational pipeline that will carry oil from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. Construction is nearly a year behind schedule and financial disagreements over the project may cause further delays.

Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion charges. Wednesday, Abramoff will appear in a Miami court and is to enter a guilty plea there on separate charges of fraud and conspiracy.

Madeleine Brand speaks with Slate military affairs contributor Fred Kaplan about how Hurricane Katrina could affect prospects for restructuring the bureaucracy in the Department of Homeland Security. That department oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), widely blamed for confusion in post-storm relief efforts.

Think Netflix for handbags: Instead of buying designer bags, more women are renting them online. For the price of a single designer bag, women can rent a year's worth.

Human Rights Watch has released a list of "ghost detainees" -- terror suspects believed to be held incommunicado by the CIA. The list comes to light as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prepares for a visit to Europe to answer allegations about secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe.

Lora Villasenor, a senior research analyst at ThinkAZ, a non-partisan public policy research institute, discusses immigration issues in Arizona. At ThinkAZ, she conducts research and polls on immigration within the state, with a specific focus on guest-worker programs.

Michelle Kwan's withdrawal from the Winter Olympics opens the door to Emily Hughes, 17, the younger sister of 2002 gold medalist Sarah Hughes. Renee Montagne talks to USA Today columnist Christine Brennan about the U.S. figure skating team's prospects in Turin.

A report from investigators in the House, due for release Wednesday, is expected to fault all levels of government in the response to Hurricane Katrina. Authors of the report, "A Failure of Initiative," outline 90 serious flaws in the response -- ranging from ineffective leadership at the Department of Homeland Security to inadequate state and local plans for evacuation to a "fog of war" at the White House.

Almost a year after Hurricane Ida killed 11 residents of mostly-unregulated basement apartments in Queens, advocates say the city and state haven't done enough to make that type of housing safer.