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The pharmaceutical company Merck announced Friday that it will pay nearly $5 billion dollars to settle claims involving the painkiller Vioxx. The settlement only goes into effect if a large number of plaintiffs agree to drop their cases, but that looks likely.

Melissa Block talks with New York Times reporter Lydia Polgreen. Polgreen, who is based in Dakar, has reported extensively on the conflict and the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The rainy season has just ended in northern Sudan, reinvigorating the fighting there. Polgreen recently traveled to the border with Chad.

The Supreme Court hears arguments on the constitutionality of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. The court had struck down a previous version of the measure on the grounds that it did not allow for doctors to use procedures they thought necessary to protect a woman's health.

Former New York Times reporter Judith Miller testifies that Lewis "Scooter" Libby first discussed an undercover CIA agent with her weeks before his stated recollection. Libby is the former vice presidential aide accused of lying to FBI agents and a grand jury about the CIA leak.

Small portions of the National Intelligence Estimate on the situation in Iraq were released this week. It says political extremism is on the rise, along with insurgent violence — and sees more chaos ahead.

President Bush proposes adding up to 6,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border to curb illegal immigration, as well as creating a temporary or "guest" worker program. The president delivered a speech on immigration in a live address Monday.

A federal judge rules against the teaching of intelligent design in Dover, Pa., schools. He says the concept is a "religious view" that has no place in science classrooms. The case could have important implications for the teaching of evolution in schools across the country.

Melissa Block talks with the co-chairs of the Iraq Study Group: James A. Baker III, former secretary of state; and Lee H. Hamilton, former congressman. Congress formed the Iraq Study Group to give an independent assessment of the current and prospective situation on the ground in Iraq, the surrounding region, and consequences for U.S. interests.

A federal judge orders the Treasury Department to make changes in the way in prints money, so it will be easier for the blind to tell bills apart. The ruling, in response to an American Council of the Blind lawsuit, proposes several options. The Treasury Department has 10 days to appeal.

The Pentagon confirms an attack on al-Qaida suspects in southern Somalia. One spokesman said that the attack was based on what he called "credible evidence." But there are other accounts from the region itself that describe more than one assault, and more casualties.