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The 34-nation Summit of the Americas concludes in Mar del Plata, Argentina, with little apparent progress on a free-trade area promoted by President Bush. The meeting was overshadowed by violent anti-Bush protests.

Tim Carney, the last American ambassador to Sudan before the United States downgraded relations in 1997, wants to promote a broader view of the country through a new collection of photographs. NPR foreign correspondent Michele Kelemen reviews Carney's book, Sudan: The Land and the People.

The Department of Energy launches a campaign to promote energy conservation as the home-heating season approaches. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman says energy-saving steps can help consumers trim high heating costs this winter. Critics say the administration's emphasis on conservation is long overdue.

Mega-church pastor Rick Warren hosted presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama at his Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif., Saturday. They took the stage one at a time to answer questions about values from Warren and his congregation.

Increases in international trade, tourism and cultural exchanges have given China a substantial national interest overseas. But China has not articulated a clear plan or strategy for the role it wants to play in the world.

In the last several months, the price of oil has sunk from $147 a barrel to about $50. Sarah Ladislaw, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, talks with Steve Inskeep about why oil prices have fallen so much more dramatically than global demand, and what the projections are for future global demand.

Supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are circulating a petition demanding that the Baghdad government seek a timetable from Washington — something Democrats on Capitol Hill are urging, as well. So far, slightly more than half of Iraq's 275 parliament members have signed the petition.

In Tuesday's State of the Union address, President Bush argues that without a major overhaul, Social Security is headed toward bankruptcy. Democrats in the joint session of Congress audibly disagreed. On foreign policy, the president gave no timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops, but issued warnings to other nations in the region that he said promote terrorism.

The San Diego City Council approved Mayor Jerry Sanders proposal to close the city's $179 million budget deficit earlier this week. What are the specific elements of the budget plan? And, does the proposal do enough to solve San Diego's long-term financial challenges?

The president has moved quickly to put an early stamp on his presidency by wielding the power of executive order, and the nation's capital is rife with speculation about what other significant Bush administration policies he may reverse or modify in coming days.