NPR News

The Obama administration's special Mideast envoy, former Sen. George Mitchell, is stepping down after more than two years of trying to restart peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, a U.S. official with knowledge of the situation told NPR.

The White House was expected to release a statement from President Obama later Friday on the resignation of the veteran mediator and broker of the Northern Ireland peace accord.

More than 22,000 would-be immigrants thought they won a visa lottery to come to the U.S. Not so fast.

The State Department said Friday that it is scratching the results because of a computer glitch. Department officials expressed regret for the mistake which is sure to disappoint thousands of people who were notified this year that they had won a chance to come and live legally in the United States.

A U.S. official with knowledge of the situation has confirmed to NPR's Michele Kelemen that former Sen. George Mitchell (D-ME) is resigning from his post as the Obama administration's special Middle East envoy.

Word of Mitchell's decision was first reported a short time ago by The Associated Press.

NPR's Scott Horsley tells us that the White House expects to release a statement from President Obama later today.

As the AP writes:

President Obama traveled to El Paso, Texas to give an immigration speech this week. The GOP presidential race heated up as Mitt Romney tried distancing himself from the universal health care law he passed as governor of Massachusetts. Congressional Republicans and Democrats are preparing for a showdown over the federal deficit. Host Michel Martin talks about this week's politics with Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Cynthia Tucker and Republican strategist Ron Christie.

The North American Imams Federation held a conference in Charlotte, N.C. last weekend to address 'Islamophobia.' Imam Al Amin Abdul Latif is one of four Muslims who were not allowed to board their flights. He then drove twelve hours to attend the event. Host Michel Martin speaks with Imam Latif about how Muslims are treated in the U.S.