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Ministries raise millions of dollars with little oversight. One Senate lawmaker wonders whether the lavish lifestyles of the ministers violate the churches' tax-exempt status. Six megachurches have been asked to respond by Dec. 6 to questions about their spending.

Deputy Director of National Intelligence Donald Kerr tells the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence that even though Iran froze weapons development in 2003, the country still retains key nuclear capabilities and also likely still wants the ability to make nuclear weapons.

A new National Intelligence Estimate on Iran concludes that the country's efforts to build a nuclear weapon had ceased back in 2003. The report is a stark contrast to the dire warnings issued from the Bush administration about a nuclear threat posed by Iran.

In Venezuela, millions of people turned out to vote Sunday in a controversial referendum that, if approved, would fundamentally alter the country's political and economic model and give President Hugo Chavez broad new powers. One of the provisions would allow Chavez to run for reelection indefinitely.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has suffered a startling defeat in a referendum that would have greatly enhanced his power, including ending presidential term limits. Voters rejected the referendum, 51 percent to 49 percent. Opponents said the country was hurtling toward dictatorship.

President Bush is due to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the White House. Afterward, he hopes they'll make progress talking with each other. This week might mark President Bush's deepest involvement in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

The Czech writer tackled big topics — sex, surveillance, death, totalitarianism — but always with a sense of humor. Blacklisted and banned in the Soviet Union, he left for France in 1975.

Norman Mailer's work combined sweeping cultural criticism, erudition and obscenity. He was deliberately provocative, says book critic Maureen Corrigan, and he wanted to be remembered as a novelist, though he made a strong impact as an essayist and journalist. Mailer's 60-year career was full of depth and controversy.

Between the buns are 20 slices of melted American cheese. It costs around $7 and is cheaper than its meatier counterpart. People describe it as "a bit too much" and "an insane amount of cheese."

Pulitzer-prize winning novelist Norman Mailer died Saturday morning, at the age of 84. Literary critic Bill Marx shares his remembrance of the provocative American novelist.