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Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig agrees to testify before Congress about steroid use by players. The House Government Reform Committee also received documents subpoenaed from the league relating to its drug-testing program.

Israel frees 500 Palestinian prisoners, making good on promises made to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas last month. The mass release comes one day after the Israeli government gave final approval to dismantling Gaza settlements.

Microsoft releases its "Antispyware Beta" as a free download, without saying if consumers will have to pay for it in the future. It works like other free tools available from other providers, scanning computers for software known to have ill inent.

A San Francisco County Superior Court judge overturns California's ban on gay marriage. Judge Richard Kramer ruled the ban unconstitutional and said withholding marriage licenses from same-sex couples violated their civil rights. Supporters of the ban plan to appeal the decision.

Protesters demonstrating against President Bush's policies on the event of his second inauguration speech are confined to a small area along the parade route, and the central Washington, D.C., area is all but closed down amid very tight security. Hear NPR's Alex Chadwick and NPR's Larry Abramson.

Iraq's national assembly elects a Sunni Muslim as its speaker. The selection of Hajim al-Hassani ends weeks of stalemate between Kurds and Shiites. Now, the legislative body is focusing on choosing a president and prime minister -- and then a cabinet.

Forecasters in the Energy Department do not anticipate a break from sky-high gasoline prices this summer, with prices expected to average $2.28 a gallon between now and September. Beyond the gas pump, shippers and manufacturers are also being affected by high crude oil prices.

The U.S. Senate begins debate on changes to consumer bankruptcy laws. Business groups started trying eight years ago to put new restrictions on bankruptcy filings by consumers. The number of filings was soaring at the time. More recently, they've declined, but the plan remains a Republican priority.

Jalal Talabani is leader of one of the two main Kurdish factions in Iraq, and is likely to become Iraq's next president. The job is largely ceremonial, but the symbolism would be significant for the Kurds. Talabani is expected to present a series of tough demands for Kurdish autonomy.

Hundreds of thousands jam the streets for the funeral of murdered former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in downtown Beirut. Hariri's family asked that no state officials from either Lebanon or Syria attend. Michele Norris talks with Nicholas Blanford of the Christian Science Monitor.