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Connections between two on-going investigations, one by Whitewater special prosecutor Kenneth Starr and the other by the Justice Department and Congress into possible illegal campaign contributions, appeared to grow with revelations that former Associate Attorney General Webster Hubbell had received large payments from companies involved in the contributions scandal after he left the administration. Many of those involved are longtime friends and backers of President Clinton. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

Employees who retired thinking that they were covered by lifetime health care benefits are saying that companies, like Pabst Brewery, are not living up to their promises. The companies say they never offered guaranteed lifetime benefits. With companies cutting back to save money, Labor Secretary Robert Reich says the government is reviewing the benefit packages to determine if the contracts should be enforced or if employees were fully informed about what they were offered. Joanne Silberner reports.

The Supreme Court heard arguments today on whether to reinstate sexual assault charges against a former Tennessee judge. The judge originally was convicted of depriving several women of their constitutional rights by assaulting them, while acting in his official capacity as a judge. But a federal appeals court threw out the conviction, concluding that freedom from sexual attack is not a constitutional right. The judge was never charged with sexual assault under state law. His brother was the local prosecutor. NPR's Nina Totenberg has a report.

House Republicans continued their public campaign to keep Georgia Republican Newt Gingrich in control of the Speakership today. Party leaders held a conference call to reassure caucus members of the inconsequential nature of Gingrich's ethics violations. And Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour told a press conference that Democrats were making a raw partisan power play to manipulate the ethics process and deny Republicans the leadership they won in the election. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

The makers of old-fashioned wooden snowshoes are benefitting from an upsurge in interest in the winter sport. Sales of snowshoes have increased more than ten-fold in the past decade, mainly due to the introduction of hi-tech aluminum brands. The traditional activity of hunters and trappers is now the fastest-growing winter sport in the country. It takes about two weeks to produce a hand-made wooden snowshoe ... and the design has changed little in hundreds of years. Maine Public Radio's Susan Chisholm reports.

Al-Jazeera America reporter Jamie Tarabay interviewed Islamist cleric Fethullah Gulen in his home last spring. It was published in The Atlantic last August. Gulen is a Turkish spiritual leader to millions of Turks, both in Turkey and around the world, and the head of the Gulen movement. His network of followers spans the globe, and it has opened academically-focused schools in 90 countries, including the U.S. Robert Siegel speaks with Tarabay about the interview.

In the early 1900s, Henry Ford introduced America to the Model T and the assembly line. The innovations Ford started helped reshape American society. Now, the Ford Motor Co.'s future depends on the leadership of another Ford family member, Bill Ford Jr. NPR's John Ydstie reports.

In 1981, most Americans were oblivious to an emerging sickness that was overtaking gays. Throughout the spring and summer that year, a mystery would slowly unfold. It was the beginning of an epidemic of biblical proportions that has left no part of the world untouched.

In an extraordinary move, Canadian figure skating pair Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were awarded a gold medal as Olympic and skating officials moved to quell a judging controversy that has overshadowed the Winter Games. The Canadians will share the gold medal with the Russian skaters whose victory in the pairs this week set off a firestorm of criticism. The French judge whose vote tipped the pairs competition to the Russians was suspended from the Olympics by the skating federation. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.

West Nile virus has arrived in California, and experts are carefully monitoring its spread through measures such as placing sentinel animals, like chickens, near mosquito breeding grounds. As NPR's John Nielsen reports, health officials hope to stall the disease and spare the state costly public health measures.