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As they get richer, China's entrepreneurs are becoming more politically active. In some parts of the country, 80 percent of elected village heads are local businessmen, blurring the lines between business and politics.

South Korea indicts the chairman of one of its biggest companies, Hyundai Motor group. He is charged with setting up a $100 million fund to bribe politicians. The scandal has already claimed one life, a government official who committed suicide. It also threatens a pillar of the Korean economy.

California hospitals are mandated to be safe in the event of a major earthquake. The institutions most vulnerable to quake damage are the state's small, rural hospitals. But many say the cost of seismic retrofitting is too expensive. Cy Musiker of member station KQED reports.

A growing demand for building projects that use environmentally friendly and energy-efficient materials has spurred a green movement in the construction industry. An estimated $10 billion of "green buildings" are in the process of construction this year in the United States.

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 They want it repealed permanently.

The French-Canadian theatrical company Cirque du Soleil is known for its visually spectacular shows. The company's latest show -- Love -- kicks off Friday night in Las Vegas. It's a fantasy set to 90 minutes of Beatles music.

Nigeria's Senate kills a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed the country's president to run for a third term. Critics said the proposal would widen regional, ethnic and religious rifts. They hailed its failure as a victory for democracy.

With the arrivals of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court shifted to the right, as expected, in its just-completed term. But the shift was less dramatic because Justice Anthony Kennedy assumed a swing role.

From the "focus" of Roman homes to the chimneys of modern homes, the history of the fireplace is a journey across Europe. Each epoch and culture has had its own method of keeping the home fires lit.

The chance of owning a home is beyond the reach of millions of Americans. In Minnesota, community groups concerned with affordable housing are joining with prison inmates trying to resurrect careers of their own.