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President Bush has nominated House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss (R-FL) to direct the Central Intelligence Agency. But it's unclear what Goss' role would be, as Congress considers a proposal to create a national director to supervise the CIA and other intelligence agencies. Hear NPR's Pam Fessler.

In a one-day visit to Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld praises the country's efforts to register voters ahead of the October elections. Addressing Afghanistan's booming opium production, Rumsfeld says U.S. forces will step up their efforts to crack down on the country's drug trade. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne and reporter Rachel Martin.

Great Plains poet Ted Kooser of Nebraska will be the next poet laureate of the United States. Kooser's poems reflect the sweeping spaces and small-town life of rural America.

Personal finance contributor Michelle Singletary joins NPR's Noah Adams to answer questions sent in by our listeners. Singletary writes the syndicated column "The Color of Money" for The Washington Post and is also author of the book 7 Money Mantras for a Richer Life.

Writers often have precise rituals for putting their thoughts on paper. Spy novelist Daniel Silva admits his approach is manically methodical. As part of the Creative Spaces series, Silva invites NPR's Michele Norris into his den to talk process.

in Kabul, preparations are being made for Afghanistan's upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. Foreign organizations are trying to give the country's political parties the information, tools and tactics they need to become viable parts of the democratic process. Hear reporter Rachel Martin.

Humanitarian and rights groups say Sudanese government forces and Arab militiamen have committed fresh attacks throughout Darfur, including helicopter gunship bombings, rape and raids. Hear NPR's Jason Beaubien.

Slate contributor Daniel Gross has a new take on the typical "red-state, blue-state" analysis of the U.S. presidential election. He says the differences between Wal-Mart and Costco, America's two major discount retailers, offer insight about America's political topography.

The Federal Reserve helps set the pace -- and the tone -- for the U.S. economy. While the body's interest rate changes ripple across global markets, the public knows little of its inner workings. Now a former Fed governor, Laurence Meyer, has written a book about his six years there. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Meyer.

Raquel Maria Dillon of New Hampshire Public Radio reports on a group of parishioners who've left the Episcopal Church in that state because of the installment of Bishop Gene Robinson, who is openly gay.