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Renae was so desperate to keep her child alive when so many others have died from overdose that she resorted to extreme measures — and extreme risks. She now supervises drug use in her own home.

NPR's Tovia Smith profiles Andrew Card, who is expected to become White House chief of staff in a Bush administration. A longtime Bush family loyalist, Card is seen as a tough manager, but one who has the ability to reach across party lines.

The White House has so far refused to apologize to the Chinese for the reconnaissance plane incident, a stance that pleases conservatives in the president's own party. But NPR's National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson reports that some want the president to take a still harder line.

Gay couples are lined up outside the county building in Portland, Ore., waiting to be married. The county's commissioners approved issuing gay marriage licenses on Tuesday -- though not unanimously. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Multnomah Commissioners Lonnie Roberts and Serena Cruz.

For the third year in a row, the number of Americans living below the poverty line rose last year, growing by 1.3 million people, the Census Bureau reports. More Americans are also going without health insurance. Hear NPR's Kathleen Schalch.

Verizon has taken the first step to replace copper lines with a home cellular connection in coastal areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. But many customers don't like the new phone connection, saying the new technology is inferior to traditional landlines.

Hurricane Wilma hit southwest Florida at dawn as a Category 3 storm, packing winds of 125 mph that damaged homes, downed power lines and brought flooding as far south as Key West. The storm has since moved over the Atlantic Ocean.

The Homeland Security Department and city officials around the United States increase the terror alert level to Orange on mass-transit lines in light of transit bombings in London. Officials are encouraging commuters to travel as usual, while keeping an eye out for suspicious activity.

The Senate Judiciary Committee votes 10-8 along party lines to approve President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. The nomination now moves to the Senate floor, where a vote could come as early as Friday.

A lovely tension permeates The National's "Start a War," as Matt Berninger's words suggest an inevitable clash of swords. The line "Walk away now, and you're gonna start a war" sounds like equal parts proclamation, threat and statement of weary resignation.

"Sultan," an unashamedly catchy rock anthem that begs to be compared to the best of Spoon, gets What Made Milwaukee Famous' formula exactly right: It dispenses just enough horn power behind its jaunty piano lines, with pithily concise lyrics to boot.

In his book, The Holy Vote, veteran journalist Ray Suarez explores the politics of faith in America. Suarez writes about gay marriage, intelligent design and other aspects of a fault line that often divides religious people from other religious people.

At the core of The Jayhawks' alt-country music is the combined talent of Gary Louris and Mark Olson. These guys seem to have it all: impeccable guitar lines, smooth harmonies and songwriting capabilities that rival just about any musician (or group of musicians) around.

Strauss' gorgeous music in "At Sunset" is lit with the golden rays of a fall afternoon slipping away into twilight. An opening burst of orchestral color soars, but gets muted in a haze of French horns. The strings, floating high and sweet, weave a long-lined melody.

Many colleges assign books that all incoming freshmen must read over the summer. A popular 2011 assignment is The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, about a cell line taken without consent from a black woman with cervical cancer.

In a midterm election battle spreading across the country, Republicans leading the Texas Legislature are trying to meet and redraw Congressional lines to help the GOP hold the majority in Congress. Democrats in Texas have fled to other states to try to block them from meeting.

The Senate Banking Committee approved Richard Cordray, President Obama's nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in a party-line vote. But 44 Republican lawmakers have vowed to block any and every nominee in the full Senate until the bureau is changed.

Director Ron Howard's adaptation of the book by Dan Brown's best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code walks a careful line. On one side lies world-famous art and shadowy figures. On the other is Howard, attempting to bring a unique interpretation to light.

An extremely rare, albino hermaphroditic redwood tree was in danger of being sent to the chipper because it was growing too close to the path of a new railroad line in Cotati, Calif. But thanks to local outcry from arborists and the community, the tree is getting a second chance at life.

President Barack Obama traveled to Denver Tuesday to sign the economic stimulus bill. Approved by Congress on a largely party-line vote last week, the bill is designed to inject nearly $800 billion into the economy through tax cuts and new federal spending.