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The Bush Administration unveiled its plan Thursday for overhauling the vast regulatory system to prevent another crisis in the nation's credit markets. It said banks, mortgage companies, investors and credit-rating agencies all share in the blame, and it proposed that mortgage brokers be licensed and added new voluntary guidelines.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf pledges support for the country's new government, calling it an era of real democracy. But Pakistan's incoming prime minister, former parliament speaker Yousaf Raza Gilani, faces a truly daunting task.

The prison system in Iraq is overstretched. The U.S. troop surge and more aggressive roles for Iraqi security forces have put pressure on the country's prisons and detention facilities. There are reports of even more serious problems within the system — including allegations of abuse.

Taiwan elects a new president, who is promising to strengthen ties with China. Ma Ying-jeou is a graduate of Harvard University and former mayor of Taipei. Ma's victory is seen as an opportunity to defuse long-simmering tensions with Beijing over the outgoing president's pro-independence moves.

The Iraq war has claimed at least 4,000 American lives, according to the Associated Press. We will hear personal stories from those who have lost loved ones in the past five years — what families remember most, and how their lives have changed.

The war's sixth year begins in Baghdad with rockets falling into the U.S.-protected Green Zone over the weekend, while the overall U.S. military death toll tops 4,000 after a roadside bombing claims more American lives. Army Maj. Gen. Bob Scales (Ret.) joins Robert Siegel.

Pope Benedict XVI travels from Rome to Washington to begin his first papal pilgrimage to the U.S. on Tuesday. Guests discuss the preparations for the pontiff's visit — from the logistics of holding mass in Yankee stadium, to what the pope will wear during his trip.

The Supreme Court has upheld Kentucky's method of execution by lethal injection. The justices said the state's use of a three-drug combination does not violate the Constitution's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. NPR's Ari Shapiro reviews the high court's opinions with Steve Inskeep.

The Justice Department's inspector general has told lawmakers that he is investigating whether one of the agency's lawyers was dismissed over a rumor about her sexual orientation. The inquiry is part of a larger examination of personnel practices under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

A recent study done by an education-reform think tank finds that poor funding and shifting demographics have led to shuttering of 1,300 American Catholic schools since 1990. The Fordham Foundation's Mike Petrilli discusses the report's details.