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The Federal Reserve says business and consumer confidence has risen slightly since the war in Iraq, particularly in Kansas City, Dallas, New York and Minneapolis. But it also warns that much of the country is still struggling with "sluggish, subpar or subdued" economic growth. The Fed will use the data from its survey of economic conditions when it sets interest rates in late June. Hear NPR's Scott Horsley.

In Florida, Lake Okeechobee's water level dropped enough that dry grasses on the lake floor caught fire. But the weather isn't the only reason for the state's water woes, the author of a new book says.

Nowhere is the Volga River more hallowed than in the city named after it: Volgograd, better known as Stalingrad, site of one of World War II's most important, and bloodiest, battles. Today, Volgograd residents are still adjusting to the post-Soviet changes that have altered Russia.

The Senate's version of the economic stimulus package would have expanded on the House version by including tax rebates for low-income seniors and disabled veterans, and extending unemployment benefits. But Republicans blocked the measure.

Former Enron Corp. chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling are convicted Thursday of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud in a case born from one of the biggest business scandals in U.S. history. The pair now face lengthy prison sentences.

Bush set a 2025 target date for the U.S. to slow growth of greenhouse gas emissions, but remains leery of any plan that would hurt economic growth.

A new study from Stanford University suggests that pollution from ethanol could be even worse than from traditional gasoline. Study author Mark Jacobson, of Stanford's department of civil and environmental engineering, explains.

The tax agency would be responsible for checking whether individuals get required insurance, distributing billions of dollars in subsidies and collecting new taxes and penalties.

Consumers set sales records as the holiday shopping season gets under way. Pollster ShopperTrak gauged Friday's sales at 12.3 percent higher than last year's. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports, and NPR's Liane Hansen talks with Tracy Mullin, CEO of the National Retail Federation.

Brush fires in Southern California have consumed about 20,000 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. But Frank Stolz of NPR station KPCC says temperatures are down, and so are winds.