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President Bush's first term brought some of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. In his second term, he wants to revamp the tax code altogether; some in Congress favor a tax based on what people spend, not on what they earn. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

A powerful congressional chairman announces he is dropping his opposition to the White House-backed intelligence reform bill. A vote on a legislative compromise could come Tuesday in the House of Representatives, even though another key chairman remains opposed. Hear NPR's David Welna.

Making-up 60 percent of Iraq's population, Shiite Muslims look to be big winners in the Jan. 30 elections. Some worry the Shia community is too close to Iran and could push the country toward a more theocratic model. But some experts believe the Shia may be democracy's best hope in a new Iraq. Hear NPR's Mike Shuster.

Rescue crews pull four bodies out of the large mudslide in the coastal town of La Conchita, California. A Ventura County spokeswoman says crews have found nine people alive using specialized listening gear. From member station KCRW, Eric Roy reports.

For most opera critics and fans today, America's reigning soprano is Renée Fleming. In her new autobiography The Inner Voice, Fleming offers a candid, behind-the-scenes look at the life of an opera singer. She talk's with NPR's Fred Child.

Four-time Tony winner Audra McDonald has starred on Broadway with a soprano voice that draws comparisons to Barbara Streisand. As she opens the seventh season of Lincoln Center's American Songbook series, she talks about the joys of being onstage.

Scientists who've been studying the 3,300-year-old mummy of King Tutankhamen say computerized scans contradict the long-held theory that a blow to the head killed the boy pharaoh.

Florida's biggest agricultural crop is nursery plants, which suffered losses when four major hurricanes swept through the state this year. Many nursery owners are single entrepreneurs or families who can't bounce back from a natural disaster as easily as big businesses. Hear NPR's Ari Shapiro.

Three U.N. workers kidnapped in Afghanistan are freed. Afghan Interior Minister Ahmad Jalali made the announcement Tuesday. The workers were helping with the Afghan election won by incumbent President Hamid Karzai. Hear NPR's Paul Brown.

Health officials are urging a crackdown on candies and snacks imported from Mexico because many brands are contaminated by trace levels of lead. But the ban might prove difficult to enforce, because kids love the tart-hot-sweet flavors of Mexican snacks, and street vendors are difficult to regulate.