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The doping scandal that erupted this week due to the revelations of Victor Conte of the BALCO company may have a serious effect on at least two major athletes, track star Marion Jones and baseball slugger Barry Bonds. Jones denies using any illegal substances, and Bonds says he never knowingly used banned drugs, but skepticism is growing. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.

Actor Jerry Orbach died Tuesday at age 69 of prostate cancer. Orbach spent years on the New York stage as a song man in hit musicals, but he was perhaps best known for his role as acerbic New York homicide detective Lennie Briscoe in the long-running hit series Law and Order.

A newly released memo from former White House counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke warned then National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice that al Qaeda was an "active, major force" that needed immediate attention. The communiqué was written five days after President Bush took office in 2001.

Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans resign from President Bush's Cabinet. Ashcroft said in a handwritten letter to Bush, "The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved." NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

President Bush's first term brought some of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. In his second term, he wants to revamp the tax code altogether; some in Congress favor a tax based on what people spend, not on what they earn. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) calls for a congressional investigation into why the Federal Emergency Management Agency spent $29 million of funds meant for hurricane relief in the Miami area, even though that region experienced conditions akin to a thunderstorm. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

A survey by a group called The Catalogue for Philanthropy finds the poorest American states score the highest on their "generosity index" for 2004 -- an annual scorecard ranking states by how much their residents give to charities in proportion to how much they have. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden and George McCully, a trustee of the Ellis L. Phillips Foundation and project coordinator for The Catalogue for Philanthropy.

The board of directors of Hewlett-Packard calls for the resignation of chairman and chief executive Carly Fiorina. Fiorina made a mark as the first woman president, CEO and chairman of a major computer company, and steered HP through its merger with Compaq.

A powerful congressional chairman announces he is dropping his opposition to the White House-backed intelligence reform bill. A vote on a legislative compromise could come Tuesday in the House of Representatives, even though another key chairman remains opposed. Hear NPR's David Welna.

After months of intense negotiations, the House votes 336-75 to pass an anticipated intelligence reform bill. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra said in final debate on the bill that it may be one of the most difficult and involved bills in Congressional history. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.