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Thomas Ricks, senior Pentagon correspondent for The Washington Post, discusses this week's long-awaited progress report from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the top two American officials in Iraq.

President Bush's three recent Supreme Court nominations reveal the complications and motives involved when politicians choose the nation's top judges, legal observers say. Political science professor David Yalof is an expert on the history and evolution of the Supreme Court nomination process.

in the ethics investigation of House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Republicans believe that it was Representative Jim McDermott, the House Ethics Committee's top Democrat, who leaked the recording of an incriminating phone call made by Gingrich. McDermott says he'll not participate in the committee's continuing investigation of Gingrich, calling it "a charade."

Jon Miller reports from Lima on Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori's strategy towards the crisis in the Japanese ambassador's residence, where leftist rebels still hold 74 hostages. Fujimori refuses to consider the hostage-takers' demand that he free their imprisoned comrades, but at the same time he is actively seeking a negotiated solution. The Peruvian leader is resisting pressure from his military to storm the residence. He has even sent a top advisor to meet with jailed rebel leaders.

States Figure Skating Championship in Nashville, where the competition for national titles continues into the weekend. 1996 World Champion Todd Eldredge is a favorite for top place in the men's programs, after skating a nearly flawless program last night. The long programs will decide the U.S. world team on Saturday.

of Mexico's top drug enforcement official for allegedly having ties to the country's number one drug trafficking organization. The dismissal of General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo comes barely a week before the U.S. is expected to recertify Mexico as a reliable partner in fighting illegal narcotics.

the Democratic National Committee's top fund-raiser among Asian-Americans, John Huang. Huang raised four and a half million dollars for the D-N-C and then disappeared from sight last week, after the legality of some contributions was challenged. Today, Huang is scheduled to give a deposition in a civil suit against the Commerce Department, where he used to work.

Carolyn Jack reports from Toronto on the growing demands for the resignation of Canada's top military officer. General Jean Boyle has come under fire in the course of an official inquiry into the killings of Somali civilians by Canadian peacekeepers. The inquiry has uncovered allegations of a coverup of the military's handling of the 1993 torture and murder of a Somali teenager. The calls for Boyle's removal escalated when he defended himself by questioning his staff's integrity and moral fiber.

Bob Dole is just back from a visit to northern California, where he campaigned for himself and for a Republican congressional candidate. Most House and Senate candidates want the top of the ticket to appear in the district to take advantage of the presidential candidate's coattails. But in the California case and others, the local congressional hopeful may be more popular, and Dole may not have much to offer in the way of assistance. NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports.

The State Department has collected essays of 15 top authors on what it means to be an American writer. The anthology, aimed at promoting American values abroad, will be distributed free at U.S. embassies worldwide. An anti-propaganda law makes it illegal to disseminate the works in the United States, but they are available on a government Web site aimed at foreign audiences. NPR's Susan Stamberg interviews novelists Bharati Mukherjee and Charles Johnson about their participation in the project.