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Iranians are voting Friday in a parliamentary election with limited choices. Many pro-reform politicians were barred from running as candidates. Conservatives are split over the policies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The Federal Reserve swooped in quickly to prevent Wall Street titan Bear Stearns from going bust and triggering a panic on Wall Street. It's not a bailout in the sense of a taxpayer rescue of a corporation. But it is part of a more activist approach to the credit crisis by both the Fed and the Bush administration's economic team.

Analysts on Wall Street fear that another big investment bank could be teetering on the edge of disaster. Investors this week will watch closely the earnings of major banks and look for any signs that aggressive moves by the Federal Reserve are bringing stability back to credit markets.

In an NPR interview, the Dalai Lama renewed his call for "meaningful" autonomy for Tibet within China and said China, "whether intentionally or unintentionally," is carrying out "cultural genocide" in Tibet.

Pope Benedict is visiting the United States for the first time as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. R. Scott Appleby, a professor of religious history at the University of Notre Dame, says the pope's message to America's "Cafeteria Catholics" will likely be a positive one, rather than focusing on differences with the Vatican.

The Supreme Court is wrapping up its term, which means blockbuster decisions coming down all at the same time. The justices issued two major rulings early Wednesday. They ruled against the death penalty for people convicted of child rape. And they reduced punitive damages against Exxon for the Valdez oil spill.

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has ended his hopes to become the country's next leader. Just days before a special runoff election, Tsvangirai cited fatal intimidation tactics allegedly by supporters of his opponent, incumbent President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe freelance reporter Jeffrey Barbee explains the recent developments.

Israel Wednesday again closed the border crossings into the Gaza Strip in retaliation for rocket attacks from Gaza into the southern city of Sderot. Hamas called the move a violation of a truce, but urged Palestinian factions to hold their fire.

Iraq's oil ministry has just opened the doors to several major western oil companies. It's been more than 36 years since companies like Exxon have had access to Iraq's oil fields. And down the road, Iraq's reserves could dramatically increase the world's oil supply.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said the Washington, D.C., law banning handguns violates individual rights protected by the Second Amendment. The court had not conclusively interpreted the Second Amendment since its ratification in 1791.