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Real estate agents normally command 6-percent commissions of when they sell a house. But discount brokers and the Internet are eroding that cut. Wendy Kaufman reports that agents are returning most of their commissions to buyers to speed sales in areas where the boom is already over.

A congressional committee took up the topic of global climate change Wednesday, focusing on an eight-year-old study suggesting that the world is warmer now than it has been in a thousand years. Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) used the hearing to question the study and the debate over global warming.

When Congress expanded Medicare to include drug coverage, it ordered the National Institute of Medicine to look at what should be done to minimize medication errors. The agency says medication errors harm at least 1.5 million Americans every year.

U.N. nuclear inspectors kicked out of communist North Korea make a stop in China en route to the International Atomic Energy Agency headquarters in Vienna. The expulsions follow North Korea's move to revive a nuclear facility. Russia condemns the action, but China takes a more measured approach. NPR's Rob Gifford reports.

The rhetoric has been escalating in Washington as the U.N. Security Council considers how to push Iran to abandon a suspected nuclear weapons program. The United States wants to isolate Iran and its leaders, but other nations are far more cautious, given the Bush administration's record in Iraq.

Meeting with South Korean officials in Seoul, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly says the United States may consider providing North Korea with energy supplies if it scraps its nuclear weapons program. NPR's Eric Weiner reports.

President Bush meets with chief executives from GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler in the Oval Office, urging them to become competitive in a difficult global environment. In addition to competition from Japan, trade restrictions and foreign-currency manipulation are on the agenda.

The International Atomic Energy Agency warns North Korea to reconsider its decision last week to expel arms inspectors and restart its nuclear weapons program. But the IAEA's board of governors declines to refer the matter immediately to the U.N. Security Council for action. NPR's Mike Shuster reports.

Microsoft is about to unveil its first new operating system in a number of years, amid much fanfare. But a big question remains: Is Vista any good?

A newly unsealed report suggests energy companies deliberately manipulated California's electricity market. The report details conversations between the Williams Cos. and AES Corp., in which employees talk about extending power plant outages to profit from higher prices. Hear NPR's Scott Horsley.