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Linda talks with Ron Elving and Phil Duncan of Congressional Quarterly magazine. They discuss the make-up of the 105th congress -- which includes a Senate that's more conservative, and a House that's picked up a few more Democrats. With Republicans maintaining control of both houses of Congress and a Democrat in the White House -- both men agree that we can look forward to an era of compromise.

Public housing authorities are being hard hit by strains on state budgets. Now, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development warns local governments that less funding is in the pipeline to local housing authorities. It's unclear how much funding will be cut. NPR's Janet Babin reports.

A new law is taking hold in many states, requiring owners of new homes to hold off suing the builder for repairs until they give the builder a chance to fix the problem. Homebuilders say it's only fair. Some owners of new homes say it's not fair to them and they want it repealed. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have the right to challenge their detention in U.S. courts. It's the third time the high court has ruled against the Bush administration over its treatment of detainees in the war on terrorism.

The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department took unprecedented steps over the weekend to boost confidence in mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Among other things, they increased a government line of credit available to either company. How are the markets reacting?

Bloomington fire officials are reminding homeowners who use a fireplace to have their chimneys inspected and swept. This follows an early morning fire…

The White House aide whose office requested FBI files on Republicans said today that he is resigning. Personnel security chief Craig Livingstone told a House panel at a public hearing that he was unaware of the requests but accepts responsibility. Former chief White House lawyer Bernard Nussbaum also said he accepts responsibility, although he never knew about he requests. NPR's Peter Kenyon has more on the day's testimony.

Robert talks with political journalist Elizabeth Drew about the recent revelation that the Clinton administration obtained FBI files on White House employees. Drew talks about the general inexperience among White House staffers in the early days of the administration and the atmosphere of suspicion perpetuated by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Elizabeth Drew recently authored "Showdown: The Struggle between the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton White House" (Simon & Schuster).

House Majority Leader Dick Armey said today that he will not replace the members of a four-person ethics subcommittee that is investigating allegations against House Speaker Newt Gingrich. But Armey left open the question of whether he will replace other members of the full Ethics Committee. Democrats are accusing the Republicans of playing politics with Gingrich's case by trying to use an obscure House rule to reconstitute the Ethics Committee. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich announced this week he will not accept the position of Minority Leader if the Democrats take over the House. While there has been much criticism thrown Newt Gingrich's way, commentator David Brooks thinks that Gingrich is not the radical extremist that Liberals have portrayed him as being. In fact, Gingrich is probably one of the most effective Speakers the House has ever had -- it's just that Gingrich hasn't done a good job of presenting himself to the public.