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US immigration is at its highest level in decades. Many of those are arriving are women and children -- and groups that work with domestic violence shelters say they are increasingly receiving pleas for help from these women. This week, the Senate takes up the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which strengthens previous domestic violence legisation and gives refuge, counseling and legal status to foreign women married to American citizens or residents. Host Jacki Lyden follows one woman's journey from New Delhi to New York, from abused bride and spouse to safety and self-empowerment. This piece was produced by Davar Ardalan. There is more on our special page.

Robert talks to Larry Makinson, Executive Director of the Center for Responsive Politics, about political donations made by the media. He says the Republicans have been getting more money from the broadcast and cable industries, and Democrats have been getting more money from the movie and television production companies.

NPR's Eric Westervelt reports scores of abandoned houses in Philadelphia have crumbled in recent weeks, and engineers say many more are near collapse. The problem has sparked a spate of emergency demolition. Some residents fear their neighborhoods will never be the same.

NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on a new treatment for advanced kidney cancer. The treatment involves replacing the patient's own immune cells with cells from a healthy person. So far, it's been used on 19 patients, and more than half have improved. Researchers say the technique may offer hope for people with other forms of cancer as well.

Fired nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee is free after pleading guilty to one count of mishandling national defense information at Los Alamos nuclear laboratory. He has also agreed to tell the federal government in detail what he did with the data. Lee was sentenced to time served and released. NPR's Guy Raz reports.

Libertarian Candidate Harry Browne speaking in Iowa City, Iowa last night explained he is running for President because he wants to get government out of people's lives. Browne says there should be no income tax, no government oversight of education or wages. He believes individuals should decide for themselves.

One member of Congress has apparently lost his bid for re-nomination in yesterday's primary. New York's Michael Forbes, who was elected in the Republican sweep of 1994 and who voted to impeach President Clinton, switched to the Democratic Party last year following an ongoing feud with GOP leaders in Washington. Now it looks as if Forbes has been voted out of office by members of his new party. If the count does not change, Forbes was defeated by Regina Seltzer, a 71-year-old former librarian who raised just 40-thousand-dollars to Forbes' one-point-four million. Beth Fertig from member station WNYC reports on the result, which no one saw coming.

Commentator Marion Roach recalls the first year she rode on a float in Troy, New York's annual Uncle Sam Parade. Sam Wilson is the local man who became known as Uncle Sam for his role in providing provisions to troops in the war of 1812. Roach found herself tossing candy to ungrateful people along the parade route, who simply tossed it back.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from London that British prime minister Tony Blair remained defiant today, vowing not to give in to protests against high fuel prices. But Blair said the blockades of refineries are posing a "real danger" to the nation's health services. The government says doctors and nurses can't get to work, and operations are being cancelled. Supermarkets are starting to ration food, for fear deliveries will soon be cut because of the gas shortages.

NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that two of the biggest names in banking are merging. Chase Manhattan will acquire J.P. Morgan in a deal valued at more than $35 billion. It is the latest such transaction in the rapidly consolidating financial services industry, and is expected to put additional pressure on smaller firms to get bigger fast.