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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, by a vote of 16-2, votes to send the nomination of Condoleezza Rice for secretary of state to the full Senate. The vote took place on the second day of hearings in which Rice faced critical questioning, particularly for her role in the war on Iraq.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist backpedals on remarks earlier this week suggesting that a Social Security bill might not come to the floor this year. Thursday, Frist said there would be a bill this year.

The Tony-winning actor Jerry Orbach, star for almost half a century on Broadway and television, died Tuesday at age 69 of prostate cancer. He was best known as the seen-it-all detective Lennie Briscoe on Law and Order. NPR's Gloria Hillard reports.

A car bomb in Baghdad kills at least 14 people and injures 40. The blast came as worshippers left a Shiite mosque. Insurgents have been targeting Shiites as part of a campaign to disrupt the country's Jan. 30 national elections.

Eric Rudolph pleads guilty to four bombings, including one at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and another at an abortion clinic in Alabama. The plea allows Rudolph, who eluded authorities for more than five years after the attacks, to avoid the death penalty in exchange for life in prison.

A trial for five former executives of Enron's Internet technology division begins Monday in Houston. They are charged with artificially inflating stock prices in 1999 by lying about the company's broadband Internet network's capabilities and benefiting from selling their own stocks.

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan says a combination of the current deficit and the unpredictable aspects of health care entitlement programs could put future federal budgets on an "unsustainable path."

The Senate will debate a measure that would increase the nation's minimum wage, which currently stands at $5.15. Democrats are pushing for an increase of about $2 per hour while Republicans favor a smaller increase. Many business groups oppose the proposed hike.

Pope John Paul II reportedly had a restful night after being rushed to a hospital Tuesday, suffering from breathing problems brought on by the flu. Church officials say the move was precautionary.

Newly installed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on the job Thursday, and received a warm welcome from State Department employees. She enters the job after a testy confirmation process during which Democrats focused on Iraq policy.