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Tom Daschle, President Barack Obama's pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, withdrew his nomination Tuesday amid a controversy over his taxes. Also Tuesday, Nancy Killefer withdrew her nomination for the post of chief performance officer after bungling payroll taxes.

Co-host Steve Inskeep talks to NPR's Frank Langfitt about Monday's earthquake in China. Langfitt has covered China and spent more than five years in the country as a correspondent for the Baltimore Sun.

Eight Democratic presidential candidates participate in a debate in New Hampshire. Sen. Hillary Clinton, the top contender, was politely pressed by rivals. She did her best to avoid being pinned down on questions about Iran, Social Security and baseball.

Biden will attend NATO this week, where the war in Ukraine will be a main focus. A gender-affirming care ban takes effect in Tennessee. Taylor Swift rereleases her album, "Speak Now."

Roland Burris, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to fill President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat, will be seated in the Senate. The Senate's two top Democrats, Harry Reid and Dick Durbin, dropped their opposition to Burris being seated.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the Senate Banking Committee Tuesday about the $700 billion rescue plan for the financial sector. They stressed that it was urgent that lawmakers pass the bill this week. Many committee members were not swayed.

At issue are alleged overpayments from the government to the the insurer UnitedHealth Group, which runs popular Medicare Advantage plans.

Researchers analyzing recent drug spending in the U.S. say that high-priced drugs for rare diseases aren't having a widespread or significant effect on overall health care spending.

Hospitals have been fighting to block the rankings, but Medicare released them Wednesday. Of the 102 hospitals that got a five-star rating, few are among those generally praised for great care.

President Obama announced stricter rules on executive compensation at banks receiving "exceptional" levels of aid from the federal government. Some executives will have their annual salary capped at $500,000. Anything above that would have to be paid in stock that won't vest until the firm has paid back its government loans.