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Following a Monday briefing on Hurricane Rita's effect on the oil and natural gas infrastructure along the Gulf Coast, President Bush says he is willing to use the nation's strategic petroleum reserves to make up for any shortages caused by hurricane damage.

During the opening day of the Enron fraud and conspiracy trial, federal prosecutors present their case against former executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Defense lawyers also give their opening statements. The energy giant collapsed in 2001 -- the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attends a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers, called to discuss the alliance's involvement in Afghanistan. But Rice's trip has been dominated by criticism of America's global counter-terrorism operations.

The trial of former Enron executives Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay enters a critical phase Thursday, when Skilling is expected to testify. Accused of conspiring to deceive investors, analysts and the public about Enron's financial condition, Skilling faces decades in prison if convicted.

A commission on American prisons offers a report to the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday. Among the group's findings: Violence is an enormous problem, and health care is a disaster. The panel recommends an end to institutional secrecy that has permitted prisons to evade oversight for decades.

The opposition leader in Belarus is calling on supporters to stand their ground. The backers of Alexander Milinkevich are camped out in freezing weather to protest results of an election largely seen as a farce by international observers.

A new formatting of credit scores has been created through a partnership among the three major credit-reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Evan Hendricks, publisher and editor of Privacy Times talks with Michele Norris about the new system.

President Bush is asking Congress to approve his rules for military commissions to try detainees accused of war crimes. He says court-martial rules are not appropriate for what he terms "illegal combatants." Some legal analysts are concerned that the president's rules leave defendants without enough rights.

President Bush this week is expected to sign a $70 billion tax-cut package into law. It will lower rates for investors and save billions of dollars for families with above-average incomes. Now Republicans in Congress are turning their attention toward the estate tax. They want it repealed permanently.

These young politicians have few memories of life under Soviet rule — and they say the war has accelerated their efforts to push for a more Europe-focused future.