California lawmakers have rejected a bill seeking to ban plastic shopping bags after a contentious debate over whether the state was going too far in trying to regulate personal choice.

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The Democratic Party has used its control of Congress to pass sweeping overhauls of the financial system and health care -- but those changes may come at a steep price. Only a few Republicans were involved -- and anti-incumbent sentiment is running high as mid-term elections approach.

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Karen Handel, a former secretary of state, will meet former Congressman Nathan Deal in a Republican runoff on Aug. 10. The winner will face Democrat Roy Barnes, a past governor, in the fall. Handel is backed by Sarah Palin, Deal by Newt Gingrich.

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The 60-40 vote to overcome a procedural hurdle and move the bill toward a final vote came moments after Carte Goodwin, a successor to West Virginia Democrat Robert Byrd, was sworn in. Goodwin was the crucial 60th senator to defeat a Republican filibuster that has led to a lapse in benefits for 2.5 million people.

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On Tuesday, a Senate committee heard testimony from James Clapper, President Obama's nominee to become Director of National Intelligence, the top position in the intelligence community. There is a growing sense that the intelligence bureaucracy is unwieldy and that the DNI doesn't have the power to rein it in. Michele Norris talks to NPR's Rachel Martin, who is following the story.

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On Tuesday, the Senate swore in the new short-term senator from West Virginia, Carte Goodwin, giving Democrats the 60 votes they needed to advance the bill to extend unemployment benefits. The bill now heads to the full Senate. Republicans continue to oppose the measure on the grounds that it adds to the deficit.

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Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was expected to take the stand on Tuesday, but the sometimes heated testimony of his brother and co-defendant, Robert Blagojevich, took longer than expected. The former governor is accused of scheming to trade or sell the Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama.

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The Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Elena Kagan for the Supreme Court fell on strict party lines ... except for Sen. Lindsey Graham.  The South Carolina Republican voted in her favor.

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Renee Montagne talks to NPR's Cokie Roberts about the effect of the blown-out oil well on the congressional races. Roberts also talks about the influence of the Tea Party movement on those elections.

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The Secret Service is looking into its own security procedures after determining that a Virginia couple managed to slip into Tuesday night's state dinner at the White House even though they were not on the guest list, an agency spokesman said. The Secret Service learned about the breach after the couple posted photos on Facebook.

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Florida Republican Gov. Charlie Crist is hoping to move to Washington, but his first challenge is to win his party's nomination in next year's Senate race. His rival, conservative former state house Speaker Marco Rubio, has been gaining ground, but Crist's campaign has begun to fight back.

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New details are emerging as President Obama's announcement of his Afghanistan troop decision nears. In a primetime address to the nation, Obama is expected to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan and to boost the training of Afghan forces.

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The administration cites a letter from economists as evidence that Democrats' plans for remaking the nation's health system will tackle costs.

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Fred Barbash of Politico moderates the site's arena. Participants are responding to the question, Obama's Charisma: Where Did He Leave It? Also, political junkie Ken Rudin fills us in on the first state dinner, and Gov. Mark Sanford's (R-SC) possible impeachment.

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President Obama will commit the U.S. to a goal of cuts in greenhouse gas emissions over the next decade at a climate conference in Copenhagen next month. His goal is to cut carbon dioxide emissions by about 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

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President Obama will attend the climate change summit in Copenhagen next month and will commit the United States to reducing its production of greenhouse gases, the White House said Wednesday.

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President Obama will address the nation on his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan Tuesday night from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The president is expected to lay out his plans for expanding the Afghan conflict and, ultimately, ending America's military role.

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An Irish Catholic congressman is entangled in a very public battle with a Catholic Archbishop. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a Democrat from Rhode Island, says he was told not to take communion because of his views on abortion rights. The controversy illustrates a larger debate about the Catholic Church's priorities and core values. For more on the subject, guest host Jennifer Ludden talks with Frances Kissling, former president of Catholics for Choice, the Rev. Harry Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md., Professor Stephen Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America.

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At President's Obama's first state dinner Tuesday night, the menu was largely vegetarian in homage to India's Prime Minister Singh. Guests feasted on red lentil soup and roasted potato dumplings or green curry prawns. Plus an arugula salad from the White House garden and pumpkin pie to top it off.

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President Obama's push to overhaul the nation's health care system has been sparking debate for months. But a new attack emerged Saturday — from a gun-rights group. The White House responded Tuesday to the claim that the proposed bill is bad for gun owners. It's another hot-button issue for Democrats to address as the bill moves forward.

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South Carolina lawmakers began impeachment hearings Tuesday against Gov. Mark Sanford. The legislators began a hearing on the governor's five-day absence in June when he went to Argentina to meet his lover and left no one in charge of the state. Cindi Scoppe, associate editor of The Slate newspaper, says Sanford and the legislature had been at odds even before the scandal.

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The Obamas host Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday night at the most formal of all dinners. First lady Michelle Obama said she and the president will be like swans, gliding with poise and serenity — while paddling furiously to get things right.

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Barack Obama and Franklin Delano Roosevelt faced similar challenges 10 months into their presidencies. Guy Raz talks to Jonathan Alter, author of The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope.

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Most of us were taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America. Yet it is far from clear cut. There are alternative theories about who got here first -- some well-documented, others much more flimsy in their scholarship. A new book probes their merits.

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A federal judge is considering whether a lawsuit can go ahead in which a law firm claims that IBM and an employee in its Durham, N.C., facility tried to hack into the law firm's e-mail system. The complaint alleges that more than 42,000 attempts were made to enter the firm's system.