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Searing temperatures are expected this week in most of California, spelling more risk for firefighters and for people laboring in agricultural fields. This summer, at least one farmworker has died due to heat exhaustion. California officials are trying to better enforce laws requiring growers to provide adequate water and shade.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey says he's doing all he can to make sure the Justice Department recovers from months of scandal. Mukasey testified Wednesday for nearly three hours before the Senate Judiciary Committee, but Senators got few of the answers they were looking for.

It hasn't been lost on automakers that Americans are looking for cars that are reliable and affordable. In fact, car companies have been marketing their vehicles that way for decades, starting as far back as when Henry Ford's Model T hit the scene.

The Senate has approved and sent to the White House a bitterly contested rewrite of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. The bill overhauls disputed rules on secret government eavesdropping. It also shields phone companies from lawsuits for their role in the administration's warrantless eavesdropping program.

The mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took another hit on Wall Street Thursday, after a former Fed official suggested the companies may need a government bailout. Others are weighing in, too.

Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki demanded this week that the U.S. set a timetable for withdrawing military forces. Kenneth Katzman, a senior analyst on Iraq policy for the Congressional Research Service, talks with Linda Wertheimer about the possibility of such an agreement.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stock values are down again Friday. Investors are worried that the two home mortgage giants may collapse from the burden of homeowners defaulting on their mortgages. Already, the two companies have posted $11 billion in losses.

The group Latinas for McCain includes a mix of Republicans, Democrats and independents. For many, their choice has more to do with negative things they believe about Sen. Barack Obama, than positive things about Sen. John McCain.

Susan Wachter, professor of financial management and real estate at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, gives a history lesson in the mortgage industry — this week's stars are "Fannie," "Freddie" and "Indy."

Former White House press secretary Tony Snow died early Saturday at age 53. NPR's Juan Williams, who had appeared with Snow as a commentator on Fox News Channel, talks about his friend and former colleague.