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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday for the first time that the Second Amendment to the Constitution protects an individual's right to own a gun. Gun rights advocates say there will be a flood of lawsuits attempting to ease regulations on gun ownership. Big city mayors and police chiefs predict an increase in gun violence.

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Second Amendment of the Constitution guarantees an individual right to bear arms. That's a huge shift in constitutional law; it's been almost 70 years since the high court ruled on the amendment. The decision came in a challenge to Washington, D.C.'s gun ban.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson spent Thursday on an apology tour after making crude remarks about Sen. Barack Obama's approach to faith-based initiatives and the black community. Veteran pollster Ron Lester and Laura Washington, of The Chicago Sun-Times, discuss the issues behind Jackson's comments and the fallout.

A U.S. government plan to restore confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would temporarily raise the Treasury Department's credit line to the two mortgage financiers. The idea is to shore up the companies' finances and keep money flowing to the mortgage market. What does this mean for mortgage holders and taxpayers?

Ministries raise millions of dollars with little oversight. One Senate lawmaker wonders whether the lavish lifestyles of the ministers violate the churches' tax-exempt status. Six megachurches have been asked to respond by Dec. 6 to questions about their spending.

In Venezuela, millions of people turned out to vote Sunday in a controversial referendum that, if approved, would fundamentally alter the country's political and economic model and give President Hugo Chavez broad new powers. One of the provisions would allow Chavez to run for reelection indefinitely.

Deputy Director of National Intelligence Donald Kerr tells the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that even though Iran froze weapons development in 2003, the country still retains key nuclear capabilities and also likely still wants the ability to make nuclear weapons.

A new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran concludes that the country's efforts to build a nuclear weapon had ceased back in 2003. The report is a stark contrast to the dire warnings issued from the Bush administration about a nuclear threat posed by Iran.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has suffered a startling defeat in a referendum that would have greatly enhanced his power, including ending presidential term limits. Voters rejected the referendum, 51 percent to 49 percent. Opponents said the country was hurtling toward dictatorship.

"Depending on the outcome, it will either be viewed as genius or the dumbest political move in history," political science professor Patricia Crouse told NPR.