NPR People: Juan Williams

Congressman Charles Rangel of New York was, until Wednesday, the chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Cases pending against him in the House Ethics Committee have led him to step down, at least temporarily. New York Governor David Paterson is being urged to step down because of his intervention in the domestic violence case involving a key aide.

President Obama meets with Republican and Democats in Congress Thursday for a televised summit on overhauling health care. Lawmakers from both parties have suggested the meeting will amount to little more than political theater. The House and Senate each passed their own versions of health care overhaul but there's no final bill.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate have been dealing with a deteriorating political landscape for several months now, and the challenges keep increasing. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who's responsible for reviving the president's agenda in the Senate, is worried about holding his majority together in this fall's elections. On top of that, he's got his own re-election to think about in November.

What's being billed as the first national Tea Party convention begins Thursday in Nashville. It's an attempt to bring together various groups that have protested the federal stimulus package and the attempt to overhaul health care. The organization hosting the event is "for-profit," and that has turned off some Tea Party supporters.

A new poll by the Pew Research Center finds that despite high unemployment and other economic woes afflicting the African-American community, blacks are more optimistic about their prospects than they were just two years ago. The poll also found that more blacks and whites than before believe they share common values.

With the announcements that Democratic Senators Chris Dodd and Byron Dorgan will retire, the number of retirements in the Senate is close to even between the parties. Democrats now hold an effective 60-40 majority in the Senate. That's enough to break Republican filibusters — if Democrats and the two independents stick together. There are worries that the mid-term elections could change that number to the GOP's advantage.

There's a battle going on within the Republican Party over pure conservatism. Party rivals in some races are rushing to tout their conservative accolades. However the party's push to the right could turn off independents.

Friday is the National Day of Listening — it is a chance to sit down with a loved one, turn on a tape recorder; and ask that person about their life. It's the kind of conversation that's been heard in the StoryCorps project. Juan Williams sat down and had a conversation with his daughter, Regan Williams Herald, who is expecting his first grandchild.

Republican candidates won governorships in New Jersey and Virginia. Voters said the economy was the main reason they turned out and voted for the GOP candidates. Exit polls indicate that President Obama and his legislative agenda were not a factor in these contests.

For Democratic candidates in this fall's elections, President Obama's presence is key. He has been campaigning for candidates who face tough battles. If the president can make a difference in terms of fundraising, it would be a big boost to their campaigns.

The political maneuvering over the health care overhaul and other issues might affect next year's midterm Congressional elections. Democrats are especially concerned, because the president's party usually takes a beating in midterm elections — especially in difficult times.

President Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the prize committee said. It's not unheard of for a sitting American president to win the prize: Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson won while in office — but not in their first year.

A critical status report by Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who leads the Afghan war effort, has the White House reconsidering its options. A leaked portion of the report says the mission is in trouble and U.S. commanders believe they need more troops to have a chance at success. The Obama administration faces difficult decisions.

Governments and industries around the world will gauge the president's commitment to ambitious energy legislation passed earlier this year in the House. Considering all the other issues on the president's plate, does he have the time to help push the measure through Congress?

How much of a role does race play in the ferocious resistance to President Obama in some quarters this spring and summer? Many African Americans sense a lack of respect in some of the president's critics.