David Schaper

Republican Gov. Scott Walker triumphantly returned to the Wisconsin Capitol Wednesday, fresh off of his decisive victory in Tuesday's bitter recall election.

The governor appears to be emerging from the tough recall fight stronger, and with his national profile rising.

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It's been more than a year since Wisconsin Democrats began talking about recalling the state's governor, Scott Walker. Next week they'll get their chance to do it. Last night, Walker and his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, traded barbs in their final debate before Tuesday's vote. Turnout is expected to be very high, as the recall is sharply dividing voters in Wisconsin, so much so, some have just stopped talking to each other. NPR's David Schaper has the latest from Milwaukee.

Patrick Fitzgerald, the federal prosecutor who went after the Gambino crime family, al-Qaida and even the White House in court — not to mention several Illinois politicians — is leaving his job as U.S. attorney in Chicago.

The career prosecutor, known as "Eliot Ness with a Harvard degree," will leave a legacy as a tenacious corruption buster, though some criticize his style as overzealous.

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One of the most successful federal prosecutors in the country is stepping down. Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney in Chicago, says he will leave office at the end of June. Over the last several years, Fitzgerald won the convictions of two Illinois governors on corruption charges and of former Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, in the CIA leak case.

From Chicago, NPR's David Schaper reports on the legacy of Chicago's longest-serving U.S. attorney.

What's being called the first official protest of NATO kicked off Friday in downtown Chicago, where an estimated 1,000 nurses are expected to gather. They're calling for a "Robin Hood Tax" whereby Wall Street earnings are taxed to help relieve inadequacies in healthcare.

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More than 50 world leaders come to Chicago this weekend for a summit meeting of NATO, the North Atlantic Alliance. They will discuss, among other things, how to end the war in Afghanistan. They will talk in a city where anti-war protestors famously clashed with police outside the 1968 Democratic convention. In 2012, anti-war activists are making preparations. NPR's David Schaper reports.

Three years ago, President Obama was rolling out an ambitious vision for high-speed rail in America. "Imagine whisking through towns at speeds over 100 mph," the president said at the time.

Today, there are a few Amtrak trains going that fast, but for the most part, the president's plans for high-speed trains have slowed considerably.

Voters in Wisconsin Tuesday, chose the Democrat who will face Republican Governor Scott Walker in next month's gubernatorial recall election. The winning Democrat was Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

The top financial official for the small city of Dixon, Ill., is accused of stealing more than $30 million from city coffers over the past six years. It's a staggering amount of money for the city of just 15,000 residents in northwest Illinois, and federal prosecutors allege she used the funds to finance a lavish lifestyle that included horse farms and a $2 million luxury motor home.

It's one of the few politician-sponsored activities that should be free of controversy: a high school art contest.

But an annual citywide competition to design the stickers affixed to every windshield in Chicago has suddenly become a public relations nightmare.

The sticker, designed by 15-year-old Herbie Pulgar, depicts Chicago's famous skyline inside of a heart, with a backdrop of the city's blue and white flag. Extending up from the heart are four hands, and above them, symbols representing police officers, firefighters and paramedics.