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A group that started out protesting illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexican border now is trying to shut down day laborers' centers sanctioned by local governments across the country. "The Minutemen" group says the centers help illegal immigrants.

President Bush signed a sweeping energy bill into law Monday, and proponents say it should make the nation's electrical grid more reliable. But opponents contend the measure will make it easier for utility companies to play accounting games.

Nashville singer/songwriter Jeff Black travels long hours to perform in clubs around the country. But he's also trying to broaden his audience with a weekly podcast that he hosts.

Patients who don't want to go to the doctor -- or are unable to go -- have an alternate resource for medical tests. Commercial testing companies provide exams for cholesterol, HIV or DNA without a prescription.

NPR's Bob Mondello has an appreciation of playwright August Wilson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning dramas, Fences and The Piano Lesson. Wilson died Sunday of liver cancer in Seattle. Mondello says that Wilson's dialogue was "musical" -- inspired by the blues and lyrical in its phrasing.

The Kite Runner, the debut novel by Afghani-born physician and author Khaled Hosseini, has been on best-seller and book club lists for nearly a year. Writer Isabel Allende says the book — about a young man who returns to Afghanistan after a long absence — is "one of those unforgettable stories that stays with you for years."

The Department of Energy launches a campaign to promote energy conservation as the home-heating season approaches. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman says energy-saving steps can help consumers trim high heating costs this winter. Critics say the administration's emphasis on conservation is long overdue.

Harriet Miers, nominated Monday to succeed Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, is considered one of President Bush's closest and most loyal advisers.

Two college students talks binge drinking on campus. James Poet is a fraternity president at San Diego State University. Meghan Traxel attends the University of Texas at Austin. She's a peer educator of the campus program, "Choices Lite."

Lolita -- the novel, not the title character -- turned 50 this past week. Wisconsin Public Radio's Steve Paulson talks with various writers about the literary influence of the Vladimir Nabokov's story of a grown man's obsession with a very young girl.