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NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Vali Nasr, dean of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, about Russia and Iran's roles in the Syrian war.

Secretary of State John Kerry is wrapping up his first official overseas trip to Europe and the Middle East. He's shifted U.S. policy on Syria, offering direct assistance to the opposition coalition and non-lethal aid to fighters. He's also offered Egypt's Islamist government $190 million to avert a budget crisis and he's warning Iran that talks can't go on indefinitely.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama won the Wisconsin primary Tuesday, beating Hillary Clinton by a margin of more than 10 percent. The victory was important for Obama who won the strong support of working-class voters. Republican presidential contender John McCain cemented his frontrunner status by beating Mike Huckabee.

Federal authorities are investigating a massive oil spill in the San Francisco Bay after a Hong Kong-owned cargo ship smashed into the Bay bridge. The 58,000 gallons of fuel has defiled some 40 miles of beaches.

The U.S. House has reversed itself and given final approval to a giant economic bailout bill. The measure — revised, re-framed and expanded — passed comfortably by a vote of 263 to 171. It attracted 26 more Republicans and 32 more Democrats than last Monday night.

The Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., is expected to be back in full operation Tuesday. Hurricane Gustav forced the first day's events to be curtailed. Despite that, Monday was a day of stunning disclosures involving John McCain's running mate.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has asked the state's Supreme Court to strip Gov. Rod Blagojevich of his powers. Blagojevich, who was arrested on corruption charges this week, has ignored calls for his resignation. But his chief of staff, John Harris, has resigned.

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.

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher met with Pakistan's new leaders Wednesday in Islamabad. Officials in the new government have indicated to the top senior U.S. envoys that the U.S. relationship with Pakistan will have to change.

As Republicans barnstorm the state, a high-profile visit by Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was designed to bolster enthusiasm for an Iowa Democratic Party that hasn't had the easiest few years.

The Irish are seething after discovering the enormous cost of bailing out their reckless banks. The cost of the bank bailout, totaling nearly $70 billion, is just a further burden for the people of Ireland, where 1 in 6 is jobless, and those still working are being hit with extra taxes amid a shrinking economy.

A summer program at Johns Hopkins University puts high schoolers' ingenuity to the test — building bridges out of nothing but spaghetti and glue.

As we head into what's forecast to be a more active than normal hurricane season, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is in an uncertain position. The agency that responds to disasters still doesn't have a director, and some key programs are slated for big cuts under the Trump budget.

China launched three astronauts into space last week while Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting the country. Likely a coincidence, it still stood as a reminder of China's lofty space goals.

Authorities in Texas have said that there was a domestic situation going on with the family of the gunman from Sunday's shooting at a Baptist church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. At least 26 people were killed.

The top military commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, testified on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. It's his first public appearance before Congress since the killings of 16 Afghan civilians, apparently by a U.S. soldier. That incident and others, have caused new tensions between the U.S. and Afghanistan's government, and prompted some to reappraise America's strategy for the war. Nevertheless, Allen insisted that the strategy remains on course.

China is to "gradually raise" the retirement age for its workforce next year. The news is met with mixed reaction in the Chinese capital.

Fifty years ago, director George Lucas started a visual-effects company that became known as Industrial Light & Magic. It transformed how the storytellers of the screen approach their craft.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Tim Swarens, political columnist and opinion editor of the Indianapolis Star, about the current political landscape in Indiana, and under what conditions the red state has turned purple in the past.

For people who live along the river, the Mississippi is “a creative force” that sculpts the landscape and rejuvenates the people who experience it up close.