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Retired judge Michael Mukasey, the nominee for attorney general, returns to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a second round of questioning. He says torture is illegal, but did not specify what techniques constitute torture or what methods would be banned.

Barack Obama says military force is not the only option for dealing with Iran. In an NPR interview, the presidential candidate continued to criticize fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton on her foreign diplomacy positions.

In the film, Bernadette (Kathy Baker) cooks up the book club idea as a means of distracting Jocelyn (Maria Bello) from the recent death of her dog. But it quickly turns out that everyone needs a little distraction. Sylvia (Amy Brennemen) has just been dumped by her husband (Jimmy Smits); Prudie (Emily Blunt) has just discovered that her husband (Marc Blucas) cancelled their Paris trip so he can take a client to the NBA playoffs; and Allegra (Maggie Grace), Sylvia's daughter, is trying to cope with her parents' separation. Oh and then there's Grigg (Hugh Dancy), a young man that Jocelyn impulsively invited into the club to round out the group.

Gen. Peter Pace, who helped plan and carry out the Iraq war, is stepping down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Critics say Pace failed to question the assumptions of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, to devastating effect.

Yasuo Fukuda, Japan's new prime minister, moves quickly to form a new cabinet. His ruling Liberal Democratic Party is facing a crisis of public trust that is unprecedented in more than a half century.

NPR's Alex Chadwick talks with Lyndon Wilson, father of Army Spc. Thomas Wilson, a member of a Tennessee National Guard unit stationed in the Persian Gulf, who questioned Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about equipment shortfalls. Rumsfeld visited Camp Buehring in Kuwait on Wednesday, and took questions from the 2,300 soldiers listening to his address.

As Iran's strength and influence expands, many in the region and the West are counting on Saudi Arabia to keep Tehran in check. But Saudi analysts say that those expectations are unrealistic.

Michael K. Deaver, a former deputy chief of staff for President Reagan, was seen as an expert political image-maker. But his own image was damaged when he was convicted of perjury for statements he made about his lobbying activities. Deaver died of pancreatic cancer.

For eight years, Dennis Hastert was Speaker of the House — the longest-serving Republican ever in that post. He lost the position this past January, when Democrats took control of Congress. Hastert plans to announce he will not run for re-election next year.

Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party suffers a severe defeat in parliamentary elections, losing control of the upper house of parliament. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he will stay in office.