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President-elect Obama got down to business in Chicago this week. He chose Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel as White House chief of staff, got his first classified intelligence briefings and faced reporters for the first time since the election.

State Department employees have snooped inside the passport files of all three presidential contenders. The State Department has apologized and is investigating. Two employees have been fired. The Justice Department is weighing whether a criminal investigation is warranted.

The Bush Administration is promoting another plan to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. It would expand voluntary efforts by major banks to modify loan terms for struggling borrowers. But housing advocates doubt the move will keep a large number of people in their homes.

Bret Anthony Johnston says that although he's not particularly religious, Jim Crace's version of the Christ-in-the-desert tale "always leaves me in a state of rapture, as if I'd received a revelation of my own."

A retired Turkish ambassador to Sweden says no one can predict whether President Erdogan will let Sweden become a member. Twenty-nine of the 31 NATO governments say it should already have happened.

Scott Simon talks with NPR's Juan Williams about how the candidates performed last night and how they prepped for the debate.

The government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sent mortgage rates plunging on Monday. Some bond investors say this is a positive first sign. But the future of these two mortgage financing giants depends on what happens when a new administration takes over in Washington.

President Bush gave his farewell address to the nation Thursday night. Although he leaves office with very low approval ratings and a dismal economy, the president claimed some successes. Bush said, "You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made, but I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions."

House Democrats have thwarted a GOP attempt to remove New York Rep. Charles Rangel as head of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Rangel is under a House inquiry for not disclosing all of his personal assets and income. The question is how Rangel's ethics woes shake out politically.

The Dow has fallen by nearly 450 points. A high London Interbank Offered Rate, the stock value of a money market fund that lost money in the Lehman Brothers collapse, and fears the government may be stretching itself too thin with the bailout of American Insurance Group may have all contributed.