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Republicans are planning an ambitious agenda in anticipation of controlling both the White House and Congress for the first time in a decade.

NPR's Jon Greenberg reports that early this morning the Senate Finance Committee approved the Republican's plan to overhaul medicare and medicaid. The legislation now goes to the Senate floor. The plan calls for senior citizens to pay more in medicare premiums and deductions, and also lets states use block grant to run medicaid, which serves poor women and children and elderly in nursing homes. The Republicans say their plan would reap billions of dollars in savings, thereby saving medicare. President Clinton today said the Republican plan is ill-considered and goes too far.

NPR'S Jim Zarroli reports that Deutsche Telekom and Voicestream Wireless made it official today. The German telecom giant will acquire the Bellvue, Washington company in a stock and cash deal valued at more than 50-billion-dollars. The deal, if approved, would create a wireless phone service capable of operating in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The merger may face stiff opposition in Washington, though. Some lawmakers are concerned that the German government holds a majority stake in Deutsche Telekom.

Enormous deficits loom over the federal budget this year and next. The White House is pressing Senate Republicans to trim nearly $10 billion from spending bills approved last year when Democrats ran the Senate. Democrats respond that the president's proposed tax cuts need trimming -- not federal spending. NPR's David Welna reports.

President Bush says he approved domestic spying on people with suspected terrorist links without court warrants because it was "a necessary part of my job to protect" Americans from attack. At a press briefing, he said he would continue the program as long as the country faced terrorist threats.

In an 8-1 ruling, the Supreme Court upholds the $1,000 damage limit under the federal Truth in Lending Act. The case involved a man who was misled while arranging a car loan. The consumer maintained that changes in the law approved by Congress meant that he was entitled to more than the law's original damages cap. Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg.

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.

President Bush's solid performance in recent polls shows support for his handling of foreign policy, according to members of his campaign. Despite criticisms stemming from the Sept. 11 commission hearings and Bob Woodward's book Plan of Attack, Bush's approval rating has remained steady, and he has gained ground on likely Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

The Federal Reserve has taken a bold step to infuse Wall Street investment banks with cash, cutting its emergency lending rate to banks by a quarter-point. It also approved the sale of investment bank Bear Stearns to rival JP Morgan Chase for what can only be described as a rock-bottom price.

Adolescents still need parental approval to get their shots.