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On Super Tuesday, 24 states will have presidential primaries or caucuses. What happens will decide one or both parties' nominees — or maybe not. Michele Norris talks with Mara Liasson, who previews what's at stake in a most unpredictable year.

Some people don't just support their favorite presidential candidates. They write songs for them — heavy metal songs, country songs, you name it.

While John McCain won big on Super Tuesday, fellow Republicans Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney received far more support from the Republican Party's traditional conservative base. That could spell trouble — not only for McCain in a general election, but for the party as a whole.

President Bush sends Congress his final budget — a $3.1 trillion proposal for fiscal 2009. The plan purports to balance the budget by 2012, while not counting war costs or another inevitable fix to the alternative minimum tax. Congress is expected to put up a fight — or just wait for the next president.

Many speculated that Americans would be wearied by a two-year presidential campaign. But so far, the country remains hooked on the races — and so are TV news channels.

One day before Feb. 5, Barack Obama is stressing his ability to attract non-traditional votes from independents, first-time voters and even Republicans — trying to contrast himself with Hillary Clinton.

Last year, thousands of pets died after eating canned pet food tainted with a chemical used for household cleaning. A federal grand jury in Kansas City has indicted three companies for their roles in producing and distributing the tainted pet food.

In a recent op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, writer Timothy Noah takes a hard look at the long history of "change" rhetoric in presidential campaigns. "If every Hillary, Mitt and Barack promises it," Noah asks, "how can it mean anything?"

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's early strategy rested on a winning boost from Iowa and then New Hampshire, and to that end, he introduced himself to voters as a social conservative. But for some voters, something didn't ring true.

Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton battled to a draw, and John McCain took charge of the Republican race on Tuesday. Renee Montagne talks with veteran political consultants Republican Tucker Eskew and Democrat Mark Mellman about what the candidates will do next.

A bomb explodes in the campus office next door, and Lee, a math professor, becomes the primary suspect. Is he being targeted for revenge by someone in his past? Fresh Air book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews A Person of Interest, a new novel by Susan Choi.

The Army Surgeon General says he was mistaken when he denied that the Army had told the Veterans Affairs Department not to help injured soldiers at Fort Drum to challenge their disability ratings. Eric Schoomaker says the whole thing was a misunderstanding and it is fine for the VA to help the soldiers.

A new poll from the Pew Center for the People and the Press, shows Sen. John McCain of Arizona with a strong lead over the other Republican presidential hopefuls. Yet some conservative Republicans say McCain is too moderate a GOP candidate.

With Tuesday's two dozen presidential contests completed, guests and callers look ahead to the states that will be holding primaries in the coming weeks. NPR's Neal Conan and Ken Rudin host a discussion with representatives of the Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls.

Sen. Hillary Clinton entered the presidential race with two big challenges. One was to make herself the first woman Americans trusted with the presidency. The other was to make more Americans like her as a personality.

The results of Super Tuesday illustrate how states break into a patchwork — with different candidates winning different types of districts. Virginia — where voters go to the polls next Tuesday — is another state likely to divide along specific lines.

By the end of 2008, the United States will spend three-quarters of a trillion dollars on defense. Adjusted for inflation, the Pentagon's latest budget will be the highest since the end of World War II. Yet, over the past seven years, troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have faced equipment shortages and lack of proper armor.

The winner of the Iowa caucuses just one month ago, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is now the clear underdog in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. He has spent much of the past week campaigning across the South, where he hopes the Evangelical base can give him a lift.

President Bush sent his $3.1 trillion budget to lawmakers on Monday. The budget includes a deficit of $400 billion, even though spending is essentially frozen on many domestic programs. The plan includes big increases for the Pentagon and homeland security, however.

Two days after Super Tuesday, Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are preparing for a drawn-out, expensive duel that could last months before either one gets enough delegates to claim the nomination. Clinton announced Wednesday that she had loaned her campaign $5 million.

Mitt Romney suspended his campaign for president Thursday, bowing to the mathematical logic that says John McCain will be the nominee of the Republican Party. Romney had poured tens of millions of dollars from his personal fortune into an effort that left him hundreds of delegates behind McCain.

NPR's Neal Conan and Ken Rudin host a discussion of news and analysis of the Super Tuesday presidential contests. Guests talk about who won, who voted, and the impact that young voters and Latinos had in the polls.

Two recent studies suggest that growing additional biofuel crops might actually increase the amount of carbon entering the atmosphere, especially if existing forests or grasslands must be cleared for biofuel farming. Do the fuels make sense from an environmental and economic standpoint?

As Citizens Property Insurance Corp. waits for a decision on a plan that would lead to double-digit rate increases for customers, the state-backed insurer remains on a path to grow to 1.7 million policies by the end of the year.

Caucusing is not voting. It's not secret, and it can take hours. So persuading Iowans to support a candidate is just the beginning. The candidates go to great lengths to get their supporters to go to the Iowa caucuses.