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The Senate's No. 2 Republican leader calls for a new election for majority leader. Oklahoma Sen. Don Nickles' recommendation comes just two days after Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) publicly apologizes for comments he made on segregation at a birthday party for Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC). Hear NPR's David Welna.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), has been hearing stern criticism for his remarks last week in support of retiring Sen. Strom Thurmond's 1948 presidential campaign and its racist legacy. NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says the remarks may have done damage not only to Sen. Lott's popularity but also to the Republican Party's efforts to woo blacks away from the Democrats.

In state after state that Vice President Gore struggled to win on Election Day, he found himself battling not only Republican nominee George W. Bush but Green Party nominee Ralph Nader as well. In the end, Nader's small vote in Florida appears to have been enough to tip that crucial state to Bush. If the recount of votes in that state confirms yesterday's outcome, Bush will be the next president. Today Nader was defiant in the face of criticism. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

Host Bob Edwards talks with John Podesta, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, and Frank Donatelli, who worked on President Reagan's transitional team, about the 108th Congressional session that begins today. Republicans control both chambers. While both parties plan to push for progress on domestic issues, contentious differences from the 107th Congress may linger.

Egypt has released a political prisoner whose case attracted international attention. Ayman Nour, head of a small liberal party calling for multiparty-elections, was imprisoned on Jan. 29. Two weeks ago, President Hosni Mubarak agreed to open Egypt's next election.

Forty years ago, a poor black sharecropper named Fannie Lou Hamer captured the nation's attention with her testimony before the Democratic National Convention about her struggle to register to vote. She challenged the DNC to seat her Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party instead of the state's all-white delegation. Hamer will be honored Tuesday at the DNC in Boston. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne.

Satirist Harry Shearer takes note of the preparations both major party presidential candidates have been making for Thursday night's debate. Shearer suspects that some technical help may be used in the cause of the Democrat challenger John Kerry, in the form of an electric shock triggered by words with more than one syllable. Shearer's program Le Show comes from member station KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif.

Pennsylvanian Republican Sen. Arlen Specter amassed opposition in his own party when he said that pro-life judicial nominees would have a tough time making it through committee. The moderate Republican talks about his recent comments and how they might affect his future in the Senate. Hear Specter and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Alejandro Aviles is a 21-year-old alternate delegate from Arkansas -- the youngest Hispanic member of the state's delegation to the Democratic National Convention. He was drawn to Boston by the idea of being with a large group of politically active Latinos. Now Aviles is spending a lot of time networking with the party's Latino caucus. Youth Radio's Luis Sierra reports.

Senate Republicans threaten to do away with judicial filibusters. They say endless debate over President Bush's judicial nominees is causing governmental gridlock. Democrats and liberal organizations say taking away filibusters is putting a muzzle on open-ended debate -- and is a move that favors the majority party in Congress. Both sides say they're willing to take the filibuster fight to the mat.