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The Roman Catholic archdiocese of Portland, Ore., announces plans to file for bankruptcy. Archbishop John Vlazny said the church's action is a response to two sexual abuse lawsuits seeking more than $160 million. The archdiocese has already paid millions to settle other abuse claims. The bankruptcy is the first by a Catholic diocese in the United States. NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports.

Just days before Afghanistan's first-ever modern democratic election, President Hamid Karzai is all but guaranteed to win. But Karzai, who was appointed to his post by a vote of tribal elders, may not get the 50 percent of the ballot he needs to avoid a rundown election. Hear NPR's John Ydstie and Barnett Rubin, a New York University scholar and U.N. advisor.

President Bush and Sen. John Kerry traded barbs on domestic issues — from the economy to health care to Social Security — during their third and final debate, held Wednesday night at Arizona State University.

A judge in Chesapeake, Va., sentences convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison without parole. Malvo was implicated in 10 killings that terrorized the Washington, D.C. area in 2002. Malvo's accomplice, John Allen Muhammad, was sentenced to death Tuesday for another shooting. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR's Brian Naylor.

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry says President Bush did not do enough to urge the Republican-controlled Congress to extend a 10-year federal ban on the sale of assault weapons that expired Monday. Bush aides maintain the president did everything he could. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Richard Holbrooke, foreign policy adviser to John Kerry's presidential campaign, says President Bush's plan to shift 70,000 U.S. military personnel from Europe and Asia will weaken America's already strained ties with its European allies and will add to the cost of maintaining U.S. troops. Holbrooke speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

A spokeswoman for the Columbus Regional Airport Authority confirms the flight took off from John Glenn International Airport at 6:39 a.m. Tuesday.

President Bush has endorsed the Republican nominee-in-waiting, John McCain. The president made the announcement with McCain in the White House Rose Garden after a lunch meeting. McCain says he looks forward to campaigning with President Bush at his side, and he says the president could be helpful in states such as Texas.

Democratic Sen. Barack Obama made history as the first African American to win the Iowa caucuses. Senators John Edwards and Hillary Clinton finished second and third, respectively. In the GOP race, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee wins. Candidates are now preparing for the New Hampshire primaries.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has set up a caretaker government to run Pakistan until the January elections, and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto continues to reach out to other parties. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is due in Islamabad on Friday, but Musharraf isn't in the mood to take U.S. advice.