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Pope Benedict is visiting the United States for the first time as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. R. Scott Appleby, a professor of religious history at the University of Notre Dame, says the pope's message to America's "Cafeteria Catholics" will likely be a positive one, rather than focusing on differences with the Vatican.

In Iowa, the Cedar River is still running high and not expected to fall back below flood stage until Sunday. But the city of Cedar Rapids is already jump-starting the recovery of its flooded neighborhoods. At the height of the flooding this week, 25,000 people evacuated from the city.

Sheriff Bill Smith — once considered one of the most successful sheriffs in the nation at confiscating drug money off the highways — is now the subject of a federal grand jury investigation into whether he misused the forfeiture funds.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is being received at the White House Tuesday. There are calls on Capitol Hill for President Bush to make human rights a focal point of talks, but the administration is playing up economic cooperation.

The Supreme Court is wrapping up its term, which means blockbuster decisions coming down all at the same time. The justices issued two major rulings early Wednesday. They ruled against the death penalty for people convicted of child rape. And they reduced punitive damages against Exxon for the Valdez oil spill.

Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has ended his hopes to become the country's next leader. Just days before a special runoff election, Tsvangirai cited fatal intimidation tactics allegedly by supporters of his opponent, incumbent President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe freelance reporter Jeffrey Barbee explains the recent developments.

A top aide to Senator John McCain is taking on extra duties in the presidential campaign. Steve Schmidt will oversee day-to-day political, strategy, coalitions, scheduling and communications operations. He will report to Campaign Manager Rick Davis.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said the Washington, D.C., law banning handguns violates individual rights protected by the Second Amendment. The court had not conclusively interpreted the Second Amendment since its ratification in 1791.

In a 5-4 vote Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court declared for the first time that the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees the right of individual Americans to keep and bear arms. The court said gun ownership is an individual right, not connected with military service, and that it can be regulated in some ways.

Iraq's oil ministry has just opened the doors to several major western oil companies. It's been more than 36 years since companies like Exxon have had access to Iraq's oil fields. And down the road, Iraq's reserves could dramatically increase the world's oil supply.