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Jesse Helms' 30-year career in the U.S. Senate was marked by controversy and racial politics. The fierce advocate for segregation and king maker in North Carolina politics died Friday at the age of 86.

The nation's two largest mortgage finance companies are in major trouble. With housing prices down and foreclosures up, they've lost about $11 billion in recent months, and all indications are that they will continue to lose much more. Joe Nocera, columnist for the New York Times, explains.

The farm bill is back on the move, with the Senate considering major changes to the nation's farm policy. One plan, defeated Tuesday, would have ended the current program of commodity crop subsidies that critics say unfairly benefits the few and replaced it with a new crop-insurance program to help all farmers when they need it.

As the death toll mounts in Kenya following a disputed election, a history teacher in McLean, Va., fears for his family back home in the Kibera slum. Ken Okoth helps them get to safety in Tanzania. Now he worries about children from an orphanage he runs.

The race is crucial for Hillary Clinton and John McCain. In last-minute campaigning, Clinton struggled to avoid a highly damaging second straight defeat in the Democratic presidential race. Republicans John McCain and Mitt Romney fought hard for victory in New Hampshire, where neither could afford to lose.

Chinese and Olympic officials are set to mark a year-long countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games, which begins on 08/08/08. China wants to spotlight its international prominence, but concerns remain about its pollution, traffic, and food safety.

Contract talks between United Auto Workers and Chrysler formally began Friday. Much is at stake for both sides: The company is burdened by huge health care costs, and the union is struggling with a shrinking membership.

The government says order has been restored in Myanmar, following a crackdown on recent anti-government demonstrations. But some say the bloodshed has made security forces squeamish about using violence to quell any future protests.

Al Oerter, the discus thrower who won consecutive gold medals in four straight Olympic Games from 1956 to 1968, has died of heart failure. After track, he began a career as an abstract painter. He was 71.

President Bush is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Georgia. He is also sending U.S. planes and naval vessels with humanitarian aid. The Bush administration urged Russia to clear the way for the aid shipments and pull its forces back.