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President-elect Bush named businessman Paul O'Neill as his Secretary of the Treasury. O'Neill is the chairman of Alcoa, the world's largest aluminum producer. Bush said he selected O'Neill because he shares his commitment to tax relief. Bush was also expected to announce today that Don Evans, his campaign chairman, would be the nominee for commerce secretary. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

NPR's Elaine Korry reports on how brick-and-mortar stores like Williams Sonoma, Barnes and Nobel, and Target are using the Internet to augment their business. Though last season saw dismal on-line services by these types of companies, they've since applied their merchandising and promotional know-how to their own web-sites. Now Internet-only companies are looking toward the traditional retailers to find ways to improve their businesses.

Scott Horsley of member station KPBS in San Diego reports Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson has ordered power companies to sell electricity at "fair prices" to utilities in California. It's hoped the move will decrease the risk of forced blackouts throughout the state. But experts warn the move is only a temporary fix for a complicated problem, and unless long term solutions are found, power deregulation in the state may become a thing of the past.

A federal judge in Michigan has upheld a policy at the University of Michigan that allows the use of race in considering applications for undergraduate admissions. The ruling is one of several around the country in recent years -- including one in Washington State last week -- that may set the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to once again take up the issue of affirmative action at colleges and universities. NPR's Anne Hawke reports.

David Willey reports from Palermo, Sicily, that delegates from around the world signed a treaty this week on combating trans-national crime. The treaty pledges the signatories to take measures against money laundering and includes protocols against the smuggling of immigrants and trafficking in women. The conference was held in Palermo -- the birthplace of the Cosa Nostra mafia. The city has now taken great strides to root out organized crime.

Some African-Americans say that a Florida law preventing convicted felons from voting has kept non-felons from voting, too. They say that in some cases, people who have never been arrested were turned away from the polls, and that others stayed away to avoid being falsely accused. NPR's Phillip Martin reports from Miami.

Earlier this week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruled that an employer's failure to provide insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives, when it covers other prescription drugs and devices, constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although the ruling applies to the specific case, which was brought by two nurses, health advocates are seeking to make the ruling much broader. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

NPR's Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem reports a U.S. led commission of inquiry into the ten weeks of Israeli-Palestinian violence began its work today, holding separate meetings with Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. The head of the commission, former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, says the group will seek ways to reduce the violence and bring the two sides back to the negotiating table.

NPR's David Welna reports from Tallahassee, where the Republican-controlled Florida House of Representatives has approved its own slate of presidential electors. Today was the nominal deadline for states to name its electors, who will vote on the 18th for president. Democrats in the Sunshine State argue that the GOP is attempting to "hijack" the election. But Republicans say that they are going forward to insure that Florida does not lose its say in the Electoral College.

Dmae Roberts reports on The 12th Avenue Street Sign Project, in Portland, Oregon, which consists of 52 signs that develop a written narrative about a young girl on a journey. The story references topography, landmarks and landscape as well as historical facts that have influenced and created the local neighborhoods. The first word of each sign can be seen from a car, but to get the full story people have to be on foot.