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Rep. Greg Laughlin of southeast Texas, a four-term Democrat who became a Republican last year, lost his party's primary last night. House leaders had awarded Laughlin a seat on the Ways and Means committee, and nationally prominent Republicans had campaigned aggressivley for him, but he was beaten by Ron Paul, a former Libertarian candidate for president. Today Democrats were quick to call Laughlin's defeat a sign of things to come for the other four party-switchers in the House. But Republicans say the dynamics of a very individual race were to blame. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

A fellow Republican Congressman from Georgia said today that House Speaker Newt Gingrich gave "an erroneous statement" to the House Ethics Committee. Representative John Linder blamed Gingrich's then-attorney, Jan Baran, for the errors. Baran announced yesterday that he had dropped Gingrich as a client. The Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Gingrich violated tax laws in regard to a college course he taught, as well as whether he misled investigators. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports on the latest tussle between the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill. Late last night President Clinton vetoed another spending bill, this one that would finance the Treasury Department, White House and Congress itself. The veto apparently came in retaliation for the GOP's rejection of a compromise that would have financed schools and other social programs. Both sides came away from the squabble with inflamed rhetoric, with Republicans claiming that Mr. Clinton is deliberately trying to force a government shutdown, while the President saying that classrooms should be funded before the operation of Congress.

NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that President Bush has decided to end a five-decade tradition of the American Bar Association screening potential federal judicial candidates. White House Counsel Al Gonzales has written to the ABA, informing the group the White House will no longer provide names before they are made public. The ABA has a special committee that has screened candidates since the Eisenhower administration. The panel gave potential judges the ratings of "well qualified," "qualified" or "not qualified." Some conservatives opposed ABA screening, saying they believed the ABA had a liberal bias.

President Bush returned from his one day trip across the Atlantic last night, and this morning the White House announced he would address the nation tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The president is expected to give Saddam Hussein one last chance to leave Iraq, with the promise of military action to follow should he not leave. NPR's Melissa Block talks with NPR's Brian Naylor at the White House.

The White House released documents Tuesday it says confirm President Bush fulfilled his Air National Guard duties during the Vietnam War era. Democrats have recently revived charges that Bush abandoned his Guard post. But many say the new documents are incomplete, and some question why the White House can't produce anyone who remembers serving with Bush. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea.

Congress is expected to approve President Bush's $75-billion request to fund the war in Iraq, but the House and Senate must reconcile differences over the size of a proposed tax cut. The House passed the president's package, worth $726 billion over 10 years. But the war's growing price tag makes the Senate reluctant to sign off on the entire amount. NPR's David Welna reports.

In White House interviews with Arab television journalists, President Bush calls the reported abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. forces "abhorrent" and vows to punish those responsible. The interviews were part of an overall White House effort to limit the political damage from a scandal it admits has hurt America's image in the Arab world. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea.

The Israeli prime minister met with President Trump on Wednesday. NPR journalists have annotated their remarks made during a midday news conference.

NPR's Lynn Neary reports that Congress awarded evangelist Billy Graham the Congressional Gold Medal today. It's the highest honor Congress can give to a civilian. President Clinton joined Senators and House Members in the Capitol Rotunda to honor the 77-year-old evangelist and his wife Ruth for their life-long commitment to their global Christian ministry. Earlier, the Grahams attended a tea at the White House, where the evangelist admonished the President for his recent veto of a bill that would have prohibited certain late-term abortions. President Clinton is expected to attend a dinner for Billy and Ruth Graham.