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The career of Michael Mukasey, President Bush's pick to succeed Alberto Gonzales as attorney general, is inextricably tied to national security. During his time on the federal bench Mukasey earned a reputation as a no-nonsense law-and-order judge.

Growing emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, could make projections for global warming far worse than estimated. Katey Walter, 31, is one of the first scientists to measure methane released from thawing permafrost in Alaska and Siberia.

An excellent work of people-first journalism, Donovan X. Ramsey's book offers a vivid and frank history and highlights how communities tend to save themselves even as they're being targeted.

Matthew Dowd, the chief strategist for President Bush's 2004 campaign, stunned many by telling The New York Times he has lost faith in the president and feels it is time to withdraw troops from Iraq.

Earlier this month, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer paid a visit to Sudan along with Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, during which the delegation met with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Melissa Block talks with Frazer.

India's holy Ganges River provides sustenance to more people than the population of the United States. A 1,550-mile journey along Mother Ganga offers a unique glimpse of what lies behind the complexities of India today.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Thursday with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem to press Syria to do more to keep foreign fighters out of Iraq. It was the first meeting between high-ranking U.S. and Syrian officials in two years.

The former CBS co-anchor talks about her life-changing decision — choosing a double mastectomy over the possibility of breast cancer. Also, in her new book she confronts America's obsession with perfect parenthood.

Jury selection begins in the trial of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who is charged with perjury and obstruction of justice in the Valerie Plame CIA leak case. Libby is charged with repeatedly lying under oath.

President Bush has surprised skeptics by proposing dramatically tougher fuel economy standards for cars and trucks. Starting in 2010, gas mileage would have to improve by 4 percent each year — in most cases, that's a one-mile-per-gallon increase every year.

President Bush ran in 2000 pledging to be a uniter, not a divider — and pointing to his track record as Texas governor. Some say that background may help him navigate legislative priorities with the newly Democratic Congress.

A previous forecast predicted a geomagnetic storm happening Wednesday and Thursday, but the sun's activity has greatly weakened over the past few days.

A new book from Pulitzer Prize winner Susan Faludi says America turned after the Sept. 11 attacks to timeworn notions of manliness and femininity — and rolled back women's rights in the process. Fresh Air's book critic has a review.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert talks with Robert Siegel about his vision for peace and what it will take to get there.

In the new documentary War/Dance, orphaned Ugandan children get to perform in the country's prestigious National Music Competition. There, they find not only escape, but also dignity and pride. Hear an interview with the film's directors.

Congress is finishing up a massive farm bill that will set U.S. policy for the next five years. Among other things, it funds the food aid program, which is sending half as much food to hungry people around the world as it used to. Critics say this is a life-and-death matter.

Two teams of scientists, one in the United States and one in Japan, have independently found a way to make embryonic stem cells without destroying an embryo. The result essentially eliminates the ethical objections some people have had about embryonic stem cell research.

Invitations to the U.S.-led Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Md. are out and now President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice nervously await acceptances. The talks launch the first Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations in seven years.

Scientists in Oregon are the first to successfully clone a primate embryo. The research team used skin cells from rhesus macaque monkeys to create the cloned embryos. In 2004, Korean researchers fraudulently claimed to have used a similar process to clone a human embryo.

The Buchinger Clinic in southern Germany is famous for promoting fasting as a cure-all. There is little hard science to back up the program, but that doesn't lessen its appeal to guests from around the globe. About two-thirds are repeat customers.

Scientists have discovered a way to turn normal human skin cells into stem cells. The discovery could bypass many of the ethical questions regarding the production and use of stem cells. Joe Palca, NPR science correspondent, answers questions about the recent breakthroughs in stem-cell research.

President Bush is due to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the White House. Afterward, he hopes they'll make progress talking with each other. This week might mark President Bush's deepest involvement in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

Politicians in Kenya are under pressure to calm the political crisis stemming from recent political elections. More than 300 people have died in violence that exploded after the incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was named the winner in a disputed election there.

Human activities are having a profound impact on the Iceland landscape. It is now transformed from a forested island covered with rich soils to mostly desert. Iceland's leading soil scientists are part of a major national effort to restore the island's environment.

With the revival, albeit tentative, of the Mideast peace process, Christmas in Bethlehem this year is more festive. Tourism is expected to double. At the same time, Christians continue to emigrate from the West Bank. The owner of a Christian radio station predicts that in 15 years, there won't be one Christian left in Bethlehem.