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The world's astronomers finally voted today on the highly controversial issue of how to define a planet. The official definition means Pluto is no longer a planet. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports on the pandemonium in the convention halls of Prague, where the astronomers are meeting.

Gadget freaks and electronics buffs gather in Las Vegas each January for CES, the Consumer Electronic Show. And every year, our contributor David Was makes the pilgrimage.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday offered details of the Obama administration's revised strategy for rescuing the nation's financial system. NPR's Scott Horsley and Linda Wertheimer discuss the announcement.

Rescue workers are struggling to dig people out of the rubble following a massive earthquake in southwest China. Robert Siegel, co-host of All Things Considered, discusses the situation from the hard-hit city Chengdu.

Damage estimates in Picher, Okla., where deadly tornadoes struck over the weekend, are complicated by the fact that much of the former lead-mining town was already scheduled for demolition because of ecological concerns.

General Motors and Chrysler say they need to trim their network of franchises so when they emerge from bankruptcy proceedings they will be successful. In a Senate hearing Wednesday, lawmakers questioned whether the companies are abandoning the loyal dealerships and consumers who have supported them.

The New York Times has killed its sports department, saying coverage will be drawn from its online sports site, The Athletic. It acquired the site last year for $550 million.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is arrested and deported hours after landing in his home country after seven years in exile. Sharif had vowed to challenge the country's military ruler, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, in upcoming elections.

The United Auto Workers and General Motors Corp. confirm their deal creates a GM-funded, UAW-run trust fund to administer retiree health care, but the two sides gave few details. The agreement ending a two-day strike also includes commitments by GM to keep some manufacturing jobs in the United States.

East Timor's president, Jose Ramos-Horta, is hospitalized after being shot in the stomach at his home during a coup attempt. The nation's prime minister escaped injury in an attack on his motorcade.

NPR Senior Washington Editor Ron Elving discusses what Barack Obama's win in Iowa means on the eve of the New Hampshire primary.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announces the formation of a new alliance of Shiite and Kurdish parties in an effort to break Baghdad's political impasse. But no Sunni leaders are involved, and key Shiite groups are also not participating.

Embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales steps down after months of controversy surrounding the firing of federal prosecutors.

Pakistan's Election Commission appears to have cleared the way for President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to seek another term while serving as army chief. However, legal challenges against the president are mounting.

Commentator and cookbook author Nancy Baggett says it's really not so hard to make marshmallows from scratch. More moist, more tender, and more flavorful than store-bought marshmallows, your S'mores, hot chocolate and Heavenly Hash will never be the same again.

President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to adopt an aggressive approach to global warming and the environment. At a news conference Monday in Chicago, Obama will announce his team to deal with the nation's energy and environmental future. The industrial world is looking to the Obama administration to help get other countries to make environmental changes.

President Bush, at the request of President-elect Barack Obama, has petitioned Congress to release the remaining $350 billion intended to help the nation deal with its financial crisis. The idea is to make the money available to the new administration shortly after Obama takes office next Tuesday.

President Obama said Monday the government was doing everything in its power to keep the traveling public safe. Obama was making his first live public statement since a failed attempt to blow up a U.S. jetliner on Christmas Day.

The simple blend of cheese, mayo and sweet peppers known as pimento cheese is so ingrained in the lives of Southerners that they don't realize others don't share their passion.

In New York for his first visit to the U.N. since becoming president, Barack Obama spent time meeting with other world leaders. He also addressed the U.N. Summit on Climate Change. With progress stalled on Middle East peace talks as well as climate change, it was a day that underscored the challenges Obama faces.

NPR and the Kitchen Sisters are looking for stories from around the world of the hidden lives of girls — and the women they become. Stories of coming of age, rituals and rites of passage, secret identities — of women who crossed a line, blazed a trail or changed the tide. Share your stories with us.

Taliban militants stage another brazen attack, including a suicide bombing in the heart of Kabul on Friday, leaving at least 17 dead and many more wounded. The attackers targeted a hotel complex where many Indian doctors and aid workers stay. After the bombing, the militants battled government forces for several hours before order was restored.

Pressure to send more troops into Afghanistan presents military planners with a logistical challenge. Factor in training and recovery time — and a "surge" in Afghanistan isn't likely until the spring of 2009.

Democrats in the Senate decided Tuesday that Joe Lieberman may keep his committee chairmanship — even though he campaigned for Republican John McCain. Democrats secretly voted 42-13 to let him remain chairman of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. His only sanction was being removed from the Environment Committee.

More intense care can translate into worse, and more expensive, care at the end of life. So, the thinking goes, doctors who train at hospitals with better and more efficient care will be in better shape to become future leaders.