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The Bush administration overstepped its authority in ordering a military war crimes trial for a Guantanamo Bay detainee, the U.S. Supreme Court rules. The decision came in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former bodyguard and driver for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Slate legal analyst Dahlia Lithwick and Alex Chadwick discusses what the ruling means for detainees.

The paths of retired Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) and disgraced lobbyist Jack Ambramoff intersect not just in Washington, D.C., but in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a chain of 17 small islands in the North Pacific.

A constitutional amendment to ban flag burning fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority necessary to pass Tuesday. The Senate vote was 66 to 34 in favor of the amendment. The amendment has already passed in the House.

In Houston, a retrial begins for Andrea Yates, the mother who claims she was insane when she drowned her five young children in a bathtub in 2001. An earlier conviction was thrown out.

Voters in the oil-rich Gulf Emirate of Kuwait go to the polls. Candidates are vying for 50 seats in Parliament. For the first time, women are allowed to vote and run for office. Female candidates have struggled to gain recognition but their efforts, and an anti-corruption movement, have shaken up the quiet country.

The U.S. soccer team fought its way to a 1-1 tie against Italy on Saturday in its second World Cup game. The game was critical for the United States, which took a devastating loss in its opening match last week. Even though the Americans didn't win against Italy, the draw is enough to keep the U.S. team in the tournament.

Japan's prime minister says Tokyo would respond harshly if North Korea tests a long-range missile. U.S. officials have said North Korea appears to have completed fuelling for a test of a long-range ballistic missile that could possibly reach Alaska. Steve Inskeep talks to reporter Lucy Craft in Tokyo about the situation.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) announces that he will seek treatment at a rehabilitation center for addiction to prescription drugs. Kennedy, who ran his car into a barrier near the Capitol early Thursday morning, admits that he took the popular sleeping drug Ambien. No one was injured in the incident.

On Monday, eight months after Hurricane Katrina, the city of New Orleans may give some residents of devastated Ninth Ward the go-ahead to return to their homes. The long-awaited decision will depend on the results of water-purity tests. Also Monday, displaced residents can begin casting ballots at satellite polling stations around Louisiana in the run-off mayor election.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki presented a 24-point national reconciliation plan Sunday. It outlines terms under which some insurgents would be given amnesty. It also puts forward other initiatives, like a reconstruction campaign. But the specifics of the plan haven't been worked out.