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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.

Retail analyst Howard Davidowitz says the economy has forced many retailers to again offer layaway. Most retailers had stopped because it was not economical for them. Davidowitz tells Ari Shapiro that layaway has some advantages for consumers — but they better make sure they will be able to make the final payment, or they will lose the money they already have paid into the item.

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.

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.

Congressional Democrats and three Republicans have struck a deal that hands President Obama an early political victory. They agreed on a compromise bill for the gigantic economic stimulus package that the president requested. Their measure will be put to a vote as early as Thursday in the House and Senate, and it's expected to pass in both chambers.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa offers his insight into President Barack Obama's remarks Tuesday. In his news conference, Obama said the economic recovery will take patience.

A new intelligence report warns that without drastic new measures, the international community faces the real prospect of a nuclear or biological attack by 2013. The panel that issued the report has briefed vice president-elect Joe Biden on its contents.