Both Republicans and Democrats say it will be a long day as the House considers a Senate budget bill. An amendment added by Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, addresses the possibility of Medicaid expansion in Texas.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

Murray, we're just hearing that film critic Roger Ebert has died. The Chicago Sun Times, Ebert's paper, tweeted the news a few moments ago. Ebert, of course, an icon of film criticism, a one-time filmmaker himself, best known perhaps for his days on TV with fellow critic Gene Siskel. Their thumbs up or thumbs down rating system now a de facto review method of critics and filmgoers alike.

Roger Ebert, the legendary film critic, died today, his long-time employer, The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Some of you are sitting in traffic right now, muttering darkly about how it's possible to hit every single red light. Los Angeles, a city that suffers more congestion than most, tried to unclog traffic for years by synchronizing its lights. Earlier this year, it became the first major city to tie all its traffic lights to a computerized system that uses motion sensors and cameras to monitor flows of traffic. They report modest improvements, but do drivers notice any change?

The Obama Administration gave states the option of either implementing a Health Exchange system or signing on for Medicaid expansion. Up until now Republicans have been against both plans, but Rep. John Zerwas, R-Simonton, has indicated that health exchanges may be the right choice for Texas.

"This allows us to comfortably draw down the money from the federal government attributed to providing healthcare to the group of people who are the 130 percents," Zerwas said.

Scientists say they have found a way to get a glimpse of people's dreams.

"Our results show that we can predict what a person's seeing during dreams," says Yukiyasu Kamitani, a researcher at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan.

Philosophers, poets and psychologists have long shared a fascination with dreams. But Jack Gallant, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Berkeley says solving the mystery of our dreams is one tough problem.

Pork's most popular cuts don't have snazzy names. At least, not until now.

Coming soon to a grocery store near you are the New York chop, the porterhouse chop and the sirloin chop. Yes, pork is borrowing some of the nomenclature of beef cuts. Why?

Jeffrey Skilling, the former Enron executive serving a 24-year prison sentence for his role in the energy company's collapse, may receive a shorter prison term.

According to Reuters, the United States Department of Justice notified victims of Enron's fraud that they are currently in negotiation with Skilling.

Reuters adds:

Visiting New York City is exhilarating. The hassle of air travel, the expense of the cabs and buses falls away and suddenly you are there, surrounded by familiar buildings, that great skyline beckoning, and people!