AP - Lawmakers budgeted just $100 million for damages when they reopened the government's discrimination settlement with black farmers. They probably should have handed over a blank check.

AP - Congress sent President Bush a bill on Friday that once signed into law will allow Nelson Mandela to visit the United States without the secretary of state having to certify that he is not a terrorist.

AP - A House panel on Friday subpoenaed Attorney General Michael Mukasey for transcripts of interviews with President Bush and Vice President Cheney during the federal probe into the leak of a CIA agent's identity.

Reuters - The U.S. Senate confirmed a career community banker to the Federal Reserve Board on Friday, but left two other Bush nominees languishing in a compromise that brings the central bank only partway to full strength at a time of unusual economic stress.

AP - The Senate passed a $162 billion war spending plan Thursday, sending to President Bush legislation that will pay for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan until the next president takes office.

Reuters - Legislation aimed at saving hundreds of thousands of troubled American homeowners from foreclosure stalled in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, with lawmakers not expected to resume work on it until early July.

Reuters - The House of Representatives on Thursday rejected legislation that would have required energy companies to develop oil and natural gas supplies on federal leases they have held for years or be denied future drilling access on government acres.