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July's presidential election left the nation almost equally divided between a leftist who wants to renegotiate NAFTA to protect farmers, and a conservative who wants to encourage more free trade deals. But treaties alone aren't the only source of Mexico's economic woes.

House Democrats bowed toward their more conservative members with their new health care overhaul bill, which was unveiled Thursday. Throughout the negotiations, Republicans remained firmly on the sidelines, leaving Democrats to cobble together a bill that can satisfy enough of their own members to make a majority

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton unveils the final piece of her health plan, which would guarantee insurance to all Americans. The New York senator has become a consensus builder, working with conservative Republicans like Newt Gingrich on computerized medical records.

Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch appears before the Senate for day one of his confirmation hearing on Monday. Gorsuch has been nominated to fill the spot on the court left vacant since the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative, 13 months ago.

These days, the conversation at commentator Bill Harley's dinner table is about ancient Egypt. His son is learning about the subject at school and it's a chance for Bill to review the most intriguing things about the culture - because what was cool about ancient Egyptians when he was a kid are now the coolest things to his son.

The law enforcement community is beginning to press an effort to amend communications law to cover their access to conversations on new technologies -- like Skype, BlackBerry and Facebook -- to keep pace with the way criminal and terrorism suspects are talking to each other. The initiative, in its early stages, is sure to face strong head winds from privacy advocates.

Babe.net published a woman's account of a date with comedian Aziz Ansari that she says turned into "the worst night" of her life. In conversation with NPR's Kelly McEvers, two writers — Caitlin Flanagan of The Atlantic and Anna North of Vox — discuss whether the story describes a bad date, sexual assault or something in between.

She's played many a mom, but her real trademark is playing strong, gutsy women on screen. In an upcoming one-woman stage show, she takes on one of the gutsiest: former Texas Gov. Ann Richards. Susan Stamberg sits down for a conversation with the actress, who says Richards "has captured my imagination."

Author Breena Clarke's latest book, Stand the Storm, uncovers the often forgotten history of African-Americans in Washington, D.C.'s Georgetown neighborhood. Host Jacki Lyden visits Georgetown's historic Mount Zion United Methodist Church for a conversation with Clarke and several Mount Zion members about their roots in the neighborhood.

Michael talks to British Memeber of Parliament George Walden, a member of the Conservative party, about Tuesday's vote for party leader. Walden says that the issue of Britian's integration into Europe is a red herring in the current political situation and that most of his constituents are more concerned about the economy and taxes.

Recently a commission in Germany reached agreement on a Holocaust Memorial that would be built in Berlin. But now, many of Germany's conservatives, including Chancelor Helmut Kohl, say they're not happy with the design. And that's an opinion echoed by Germany's small Jewish community. Deidre Berger reports on the controversy.

Hard-line Israeli conservatives rallied in Tel Aviv today in the largest demonstration in Israeli history. They want to oppose any concessions by Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the Camp David Peace Talks. NPR's Linda Gradstein reports, that's the opposition is not necessarily the majority sentiment in Israel.

NPR's Barbara Bradley reports on reaction to the appointment of former Missouri Senator John Ashcroft to be Attorney General. Conservatives say Ashcroft is the perfect nominee for the job. At least one liberal group, People for the American Way, say having Ashcroft as Attorney General is a setback for civil rights.

Uproar among many conservatives over President Bush's choice of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court adds to the long list of political troubles dogging the Republican Party. The Iraq war, gas prices, hurricanes and ethics scandals are making Republicans worried about next year's elections.

Exit polls are showing Lee Myung-bak, a conservative former mayor of Seoul, winning South Korea's presidential election. Voters overlooked fraud allegations in hope that the former Hyundai CEO will revive the economy. Lee, of the Grand National Party, received 50.3 percent of the vote.

Christian conservatives who say that servicing a same-sex wedding violates their religious beliefs cite New Testament verses that suggest it is sinful not only to engage in homosexual behavior, but also to "approve" of it. Moderate theologians say such a literalist reading takes the lessons of the Bible out of context.

President Obama ruffled conservative feathers when he bowed to the Japanese emperor during his trip to Asia. Bowing is the standard greeting in Japan, as it once was in the United States. Slate magazine's Andy Bowers explains the history of the gesture and why it feel out of favor in the U.S.

The most popular branch of the Smithsonian will be closing after Labor Day to undergo a planned two-year renovation. The American History Museum wants to update the building's infrastructure and create a better display for the Star Spangled Banner. A painstaking 8-year conservation project on the flag was completed Wednesday.

Fresh off victories in Minnesota, Colorado and Missouri, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum campaigned in Texas on Wednesday. He told a small group of pastors, some of them former supporters of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, that he is the true conservative left to challenge Mitt Romney.

ICE seems to be changing from aggressive immigration enforcement on city streets to an apparent return to operations that rely heavily on local law enforcement. But even in Florida, where sheriffs are required to cooperate with ICE, some conservative sheriffs have concerns about pursuing immigrants with no criminal records.