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The Senate concludes its last session of the 107th Congress, passing a raft of legislation including a bill creating a new Homeland Security Department. But lawmakers leave town without passing bills on spending issues, bankruptcy reform or energy policy. NPR's David Welna reports.

Congress passes a stop-gap spending measure to take the nation past the lame-duck legislative session and fund government agencies through Jan. 11. The new Congress will take up much-delayed budget bills. NPR's Bob Edwards discusses the move with economist Robert Reischauer.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports on what's being accomplished in the last days of this Congressional session. A foreign aid bill, which includes more than four hundred million dollars for international family planning assistance, was passed yesterday and sent to the White House. It also includes more than four hundred million dollars in debt relief for poor nations. But immigration reform and tax relief remain in limbo.

David Wessel of The Wall Street Journal talks about President Bush's economic summit, which begins Wednesday. The president will attend sessions on tort and social security reform. Wessel says Mr. Bush still has to sell Capitol Hill on his ideas, even with his expanded majority in both chambers of Congress. Hear Wessel and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

A major issue of this lame duck congressional session centers around a rule changes that allow House members to maintain leadership positions even if they are indicted by a state grand jury. Another issue in the spotlight is the continuing uproar over Pennsylvania Republican Arlen Specter's accession to the chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hear NPR's David Welna.

President Bush appears in Ohio on Day 44 of his 60-day Social Security policy campaign. Other administration officials are also touring to address the issue: Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt held a session Wednesday in Chicago.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi travels to Europe for the first time in 15 years, meeting with European Union officials in Brussels. The session, seen as a reward for Gadhafi's decision to renounce weapons of mass destruction, comes as Libya remains under fire by human rights groups who say the country suppresses dissent. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

The CD The Soul Sessions is making a major impression on the music world. The singer is Joss Stone -- white, British and just 16 years old. Stone's mentor and producer is African-American soul legend Betty Wright. Hear Stone, Wright and NPR's Scott Simon.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said yesterday the Trump Administration will, in his words, "claw back" federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities. State Senate President Kevin de Leon, a Democrat from

Jeff Sessions makes a return. Public impeachment hearings begin next week.