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A Christian congregation outside Jakarta built a new church legally, but Muslims in the area object to it. In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled to allow worship at the church, but it remains sealed.

As foreclosures continue to rise, regulators and others are questioning the role of credit agencies, which gave top ratings to risky mortgage-backed securities. Critics say the system, in which firms are paid by the companies they rate, is inherently flawed.

Top GOP lawmakers emphasized the unprecedented nature of the unauthorized disclosure of the high court's draft ruling on an abortion case instead of the possible impact on women or on the midterms.

The nation's top military officer says more U.S. troops will likely be needed to win the war in Afghanistan. Adm. Mike Mullen's comments before the Senate Armed Services committee came as Democratic Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan underscored his opposition to additional forces, and Sen. John McCain, the committee's ranking Republican, shot back that any delay in sending troop reinforcements would have catastrophic consequences.

Republicans had accused President Obama of dithering rather than deciding how things should go in Afghanistan. The president took three months and convened many top-level meetings to consider strategy and troop levels. While there is support for the increased troop level, they do not think Obama should have set a timetable for withdrawing.

Democrats unveiled what they hope will be the final version of their health care overhaul bill after days of closed-door meetings, setting the stage for a showdown vote in the House on Sunday. With his top domestic priority hanging in the balance, President Obama again postponed an overseas trip that has already been pushed back once.

The White House made sure Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey would fly with potential opponents: conservative Republicans as well as various Democrats. President Bush stayed away from more volatile choices.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, told Congress Tuesday that he's confident he now has both the strategy and resources he needs in Afghanistan. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, initially wary of a troop increase coming before a crackdown on corruption, said he's satisfied that Afghan President Hamid Karzai has expressed the right intentions.

Hundreds of nominees for military positions have been stalled as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., protests Pentagon abortion policy, and that total could swell to 650, the Pentagon says.

International aid organizations say Sudan is at risk of famine. NPR’s Ayesha Rascoe speaks to Alan Boswell from the International Crisis Group about the impact of the country’s civil war.