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The Senate votes 89-2 to approve a sweeping intelligence reform bill, one day after approval in the House. The bill now goes to President Bush for his signature. The difficulty of the task was apparent from the beginning, when the Sept. 11 commission made broad recommendations involving major changes to the status quo. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

Johnny Carson died Sunday at the age of 79. Carson was best known as the host of the Tonight Show, where he brought the popular late-night talk show to new heights over a 30-year career.

A funeral mass is held for the first New York firefighter to die in combat in Iraq. Sgt. Christian Engeldrum was among the rescuers who responded to the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 and served in New York's National Guard. Richard Hake of member station WNYC reports.

The European Space Administration mission to land a probe on the Saturn moon of Titan was saved from near disaster just a few weeks before it arrived. The discovery of a fatal design flaw in the probe's radio relay led to a scramble to save the mission.

President Bush says military personnel in Iraq are right to question whether they're getting the best possible equipment, but the White House insists armored vehicles are being produced as fast as possible. Some contractors disagree. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

President Bush selects federal appeals court Judge Michael Chertoff to be director of the Department of Homeland Security. Bush noted that the Senate has confirmed Chertnoff three times in the past for other posts. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea.

Secretary of State Colin Powell's tenure at the State Department will end as soon as his replacement, Condoleezza Rice, is confirmed -- possibly within a week. NPR's Juan Williams spoke with Powell about his legacy and U.S. foreign policy.

President Bush nominates federal appeals Judge Michael Chertoff to head the Department of Homeland Security. Chertoff headed the Justice Department's criminal division from 2001 to 2003. Bush's choice comes after former New York police commissioner Bernard Kerik withdrew his name from consideration. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

In the first press conference of his second term, President Bush encourages Iraqis to vote in the Jan. 30 election despite potential attacks from insurgents. The president touched on a range of issues from violence in Iraq to how he plans to implement his call to spread freedom around the world.

With hints of Django Reinhardt, Dixieland Jazz and French pop songs from the 1930s, the band Paris Combo has a knack for making the old new again. NPR's Renee Montagne talks with them about their unique sound, their musical inspirations and the Paris music scene.