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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and representatives of other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, agree on a plan to offer Iran incentives for stopping its nuclear enrichment plans. For the time being, thoughts of punitive action against Iran are shelved.

Just how swanky does your office need to be? That's a loaded question in parts of China, where some district governments have built huge, palatial headquarters. There has long been unrest in China over waste and mismanagement in local government. But as the country's economy has expanded, the problem only seems to get worse.

Some of the world's poorest countries in Africa and Latin America owe billions of dollars to the World Bank and IMF. For some nations, the debt is so large that paying it off seems impossible. Over the past few years, a movement has been growing calling for the large financial institutions to forgive debt to Third World countries. A new CD called Drop the Debt is one such effort. African and Latin American artists, many of whom are stars in their own countries, contributed songs about debt to the CD. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports.

The Fourth of July brings to mind fireworks, celebration and summer. For 85-year-old Miriam Kerpen, something she discovered hidden in the pages of her great-uncle's dictionary created some sparks when she went to summer camp at 13.

In addition to flooding and power outages, Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the Gulf Coast may create delays in the area's oil and gas production, which supplies a large amount of the nation's needs. Monday morning, oil prices surged above $70 a barrel.

Cowboy poets, writers, musicians descended on the small town of Elko, Nev., for the 20th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Who better to report on the sights and sounds of it all than Morning Edition's own resident cowboy poet, Baxter Black. Hear several poems and songs from the gathering.

NPR's Margot Adler offers an audio postcard from the waters around Manhattan. She took part in a most unusual fishing tournament, testing the waters in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty.

Barry White, the honey-voiced baritone known for his sultry, romantic songs, dies at a hospital in Los Angeles. White, 58, had been in poor health for several years and died while awaiting a kidney transplant. The soul singer became a star during the disco era, but had a resurgence in popularity in recent years. He won two Grammies for his 1999 album, "Staying Power." NPR's Scott Simon has a remembrance.

Mel Gibson's controversial film The Passion of the Christ features two languages that haven't been used in common speech for centuries -- Latin and the even less familiar Aramaic. NPR's Renee Montagne talks to Joseph Amar, a professor of Semitic languages at the University of Notre Dame, about the ancient Middle Eastern language. Hear the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic.

Tough-guy cop Lucas Davenport returns in John Sandford's latest thriller: Hidden Prey. The author speaks with NPR's Linda Wertheimer about his hard-boiled detective, who seems to be a little older and wiser in his 16th outing.

A new study shows that the rate of abortion in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level since the mid-1970s. The survey, conducted by the Alan Guttmacher Institute, also found a rise in the use of the abortion pill mifepristone, also known as RU-486.

Until a decade ago, HIV-infection rates were dropping in the United States. Experts discuss why that trend has reversed and what can be done.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission voted Tuesday to retroactively reduce sentences for crack cocaine offenders. As many as 19,500 prison inmates could be affected by the new guidelines. In the past, crack cocaine offenders were typically sentenced to 50 percent more jail time than powder cocaine offenders.

Five Hollywood studios launch an online movie rental service called Movielink. It's a bid by the studios to avoid becoming the next major victims -- after record companies -- of Internet piracy. If it's successful, Movielink could eventually compete with cable TV. NPR's Andy Bowers reports.

The bunchberry dogwood, a tiny North American shrub, is the fastest-moving plant ever discovered, bursting open to release its pollen with the force of a huge explosive, researchers report in this week's issue of the journal Nature.

When Sesame Street begins its 36th season on public television today, children who tune in will be getting lessons in exercise and healthy eating along with tips on spelling and math. The residents of Sesame Street -- even Cookie Monster -- are trying to reverse a trend.

The Supreme Court hears arguments testing whether it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute people for crimes committed when they were 16 and 17 years old. There are currently 72 men on death row for crimes committed when they were 16 or 17. Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg.

It's been three years since the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was founded. With billions of dollars at its disposal, the fund has attracted criticism, especially from the United States, over how it uses the money. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

As the Ford Motor Co. marks its 100th anniversary, a Ford dealership in central Minnesota is also celebrating its centennial. The Tenvoorde family began selling Fords a century ago, just as Henry Ford started his business. It's now considered the oldest Ford dealership in the world. Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Post reports.

National Geographic researchers say they've found the only known copy of the Gospel of Judas, which has been lost for 1,700 years. Instead of portraying him as the greatest traitor of all time, this Gospel describes Judas as one of Jesus' closest friends.

The MAX School in New Orleans combines youngsters from several Catholic schools damaged by Katrina. A group of seventh and eighth graders talks about how the storm touched their lives.

A hectic, above-normal tropical storm season could produce between four and six major hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico this year, but conditions don't appear ripe for a repeat of 2005's record activity, the National Hurricane Center predicted Monday.

Miles Davis is among the new inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For most of his career, the great jazz trumpeter played music that had very little to do with rock 'n' roll. But his influence on popular music is still being felt today.

Test pilot Scott Crossfield, a legend in the tight-knit community of fliers, has died. The 84-year-old pilot's death has been confirmed after air-traffic control lost contact with his plane early Wednesday. Robert Siegel talks with Ken Hyde, President of the Wright Experience.

The Senate Judiciary Committee votes 10-8 along party lines to approve President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. The nomination now moves to the Senate floor, where a vote could come as early as Friday.