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Customers of IndyMac faced closed doors Friday after federal regulators took over the California bank. Risky lending practices and a $1.3 billion bank run were part of IndyMac's demise. Banking consultant Burt Ely talks about how the failure happened and what it signals for the broader economy.

The Senate has passed a new version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. National security expert Suzanne Spaulding says the new bill adds to the old law and is a dramatic departure from the legal framework the old law set up.

Susan Wachter, professor of financial management and real estate at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, gives a history lesson in the mortgage industry — this week's stars are "Fannie," "Freddie" and "Indy."

The Supreme Court decision has led Washington, D.C., to draft a new handgun law. D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, says the new measure will likely include a self-defense exception.

A new book tells how Han van Meegeren committed the greatest art hoax of the 20th century, passing off his paintings as works by Jan Vermeer. He fooled experts and collectors, pocketing the equivalent of $30 million before he was unmasked.

Critics of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac say the mortgage giants are too big and far too willing to take risks. They also say the companies have too close a relationship with Washington lawmakers, and that the entities shielded themselves from tighter regulation.

Government-backed mortgage agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are facing troubles. Bill Seidman, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, says the agencies, which play a huge role in the marketplace, "are not insolvent but are certainly weakened."

NPR's Laura Sullivan talks to host Andrea Seabrook about her dramatic report on prison overcrowding last week and the two days she spent in San Quentin.

Democratic leaders are giving the Treasury Department's plans to rescue the giant mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a favorable reception on Capitol Hill. The plan, which includes extending the companies' total line of credit to $300 billion, would be attached to the housing bill now making its way through Congress.

In a new anthology of baseball essays, sportswriter Stefan Fatsis celebrates his beloved, 31-year-old baseball glove. He talks to Robert Siegel about how he set out to find out about his mitt's history and what he learned along the way.