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Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian observer to the United Nations, says there must be an immediate cease-fire to end the violence in the Gaza Strip. He also wants an agreement on an international force to guarantee the cease-fire.

Coordinated attacks by gunmen in Mumbai, India, have left scores of people dead and hundreds wounded. Host Michele Norris talks with one man who was eating dinner in the Taj Mahal Hotel when it was attacked but was able to make a harrowing escape.

The case centered on sanitation certificates that county health departments, which are overseen by the state Department of Health, issue to establishments.

President-elect Barack Obama named Dr. Steven Chu as energy secretary and filled other key environmental posts Monday. Environmental activists say Obama's picks show a greater commitment to improving the environment than his predecessor, President Bush.

The year comes to an explosive end in the Middle East. Israel is now in its fifth day of air attacks on Gaza, rejecting a recent ceasefire proposal. The conflict is among the deadliest in recent history. Radio hosts Ray Hanania and Thom Hartmann describe how the fighting has their listeners speaking out.

Griffin Bell, who played historic roles as attorney general and earlier as a federal judge, has died at age 90. As attorney general under President Carter, Bell helped to rehabilitate the Justice Department's public image and staff morale after the Watergate scandal.

Israel seeks a new situation on the ground, says Sallai Meridor, Israel's ambassador to the United States. He says in order for Israel to agree to a cease-fire, the rocket fire from Hamas must stop and Iran should not be allowed to build a terror base on Israel's border.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his nomination to be commerce secretary in the Obama administration. Richardson took his name out of the running amid a federal grand jury investigation into government contracts.

An appeals court heard arguments in the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen who was arrested in New York and sent to Syria for interrogation. Arar is seeking permission to sue the U.S. government for violating his right to due process.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has denied any wrongdoing, and his legal team is presumably already at work preparing a defense against the corruption charges. What might the legal strategy look like? Criminal defense lawyer Stanley Brand talks with Steve Inskeep about potential defense strategies in the case.

The Detroit auto companies made another pitch to the Senate Banking Committee for massive loans to keep operating. They were more contrite than last month and offered a lot more details. But it is still unclear whether they will get the $34 billion they say they need to keep going. The auto executives will appear before the House Financial Services Committee Friday.

Critic-at-large John Powers salutes the Chilean-born writer and the new literary "It" boy, Roberto Bolano, who died in 2003. Bolano's novel, 2666, is a "massive epic of modernity," says Powers.

Extreme heat in New Mexico is creating unsafe conditions for people as well as wildlife, especially birds.

The Dow Jones industrial average has plummeted, closing below 10,000 points for the first time in four years. Ted Weisberg, a floor trader at the New York Stock Exchange, says much of stock trading is driven by human emotion and the decision-making process is being driven by fear and concern.

The Bush administration is reportedly considering a new program aimed at helping individual homeowners stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure. Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., has told lawmakers the government should provide loan guarantees as an incentive to get loan-servicers to modify existing mortgages.

The Senate is braced for a showdown next week, when the Democrats plan to push through a nearly $900 billion economic stimulus package. The House passed a slightly smaller measure Wednesday. Not a single Republican voted for the plan, which was after President Obama lobbied GOP lawmakers for a bipartisan bill. The question now is how many Senate Republicans will heed his call?

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is speaking Thursday at his impeachment trial in Springfield. Blagojevich has not participated in the trial at all until now.

President Obama is apparently on the cusp of nominating Sen. Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, as secretary of commerce. We explore why he made this unusual move.

Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff appeared in federal court in New York Thursday and pleaded guilty to running a multibillion dollar Ponzi scheme. The judge denied a request from Madoff's lawyer that he remain free until sentencing in June, sending Madoff to jail.

Bank CEOs were grilled Wednesday on how they spent the funds from the Troubled Assets Relief Program. Elizabeth Warren, chair of the TARP's Congressional Oversight Panel, says it is hard to say how the money was spent because the Treasury handed it out without preconditions.

To celebrate Disability Pride Month, Music: Not Impossible brought vibrating haptic suits to a Lincoln Center dance party.

The Obama administration is setting deadlines for GM and Chrysler and trying to force them into a painful restructuring. GM has 60 days to extract concessions from its two main stakeholders: the union and bondholders. Chrysler has just half that much time to accomplish an even more challenging task.

Leaders of the Group of 20 nations approved more than $1 trillion of additional resources for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. They also agreed on a regulatory crackdown that will bring hedge funds and other financial institutions under tighter global supervision.

Many health care professionals agree the switch to electronic records will help lower health care, but there is growing skepticism among doctors, administrators and computer specialists who say the costs of implementing a comprehensive tracking system will outweigh any cost-saving benefits.

Eating lots of red meat increases the chances of dying prematurely of cancer and heart disease. Previous research had found a link between red meat and an increased risk of heart disease and cancer.