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Saddam Hussein admits in court that he ordered the trial of 148 Shiite villagers who were later executed after a failed assassination attempt against him in 1982. He says he also ordered the razing of farmland in the village where the attempt on his life occurred, but insists his actions were not criminal.

A red fruit showing up in stores has an egg shape, a tomato texture and a flavor all its own. The tamarillo's origins are in the Andes. Debbie Elliott talks to a Peruvian restaurant owner in Oregon about the fruit.

This past weekend, the University of Southern California and the University of Texas each finished undefeated seasons with dominating performances to set up their face-off for the national title in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4.

Russia will take over the chairmanship of the Group of Eight industrial nations at a time when there are growing concerns about President Putin's commitment to democracy. Fred Bergsten, director of the Institute for International Economics offers his insights.

Pakistan is still trying to come to terms with the suffering of earthquake survivors. By conservative counts, 56,000 people died after the quake struck the remote Himalayas three weeks ago. The United Nations is warning that a second wave of deaths from disease has begun.

Iranian negotiators are due to arrive in Moscow Monday for discussions about moving Tehran's nuclear fuel production to Russia. Moscow says its proposal offers the best hope for breaking Tehran's standoff with the West.

Voters in northern Lebanon went to the polls Sunday in the last round of the first elections since Syrian troops left the country. Host Jennifer Ludden talks with NPR's Eric Weiner, who is in Beirut, about who won and the challenges ahead for Lebanon.

The Justice Department gives Robert Bork, the one-time Supreme Court nominee, the John Sherman award for his contribution to anti-trust law. But Bork may be best remembered for his contentious nomination hearing, which many believe kicked off the fight over judicial nominees.

Doyle Lawson grew up admiring Bluegrass legends — and now he is one. His mandolin and voice have been heard with bluegrass pioneers like J.D Crowe, the Country Gentlemen and Jimmy Martin. Lawson's band, Quicksilver, started in 1979, forging a mix of bluegrass and gospel that has earned them numerous awards. Their latest release is You Gotta Dig a Little Deeper.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets with Muslim leaders in Britain, as his cabinet considers new legislation for combating terrorism. The four chief suspects in the London attacks were all British Muslims. Blair is looking for new ways to keep young Britons from what he has called the "evil ideology" of Islamist extremism.

The Los Angeles Archdiocese releases hundreds of pages of documents relating to sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests. The files detail accusations against nearly 130 priests. They also show that for decades, the archdiocese moved abusive priests from one parish to another.

Authorities have suspended vote-counting one week after Haiti's presidential election. Front-runner Rene Preval claimed that massive fraud was preventing him from winning in the first round. Thousands of Preval's supporters held a demonstration Tuesday night after burned ballots were found smoldering on a dump.

Congress begins debate this week on how to try detainees held at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The hearings come in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the secret military tribunals set up by the Bush administration.

Western nations rush to evacuate thousands of citizens from Lebanon as Hezbollah militants and Israel continue to pound each other for a sixth day. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he will not stop a military barrage against Hezbollah until the militia group returns two kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

A congressional committee took up the topic of global climate change Wednesday, focusing on an eight-year-old study suggesting that the world is warmer now than it has been in a thousand years. Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX) used the hearing to question the study and the debate over global warming.

Dutch parliamentarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali gained fame for criticizing conservative Muslims for what she considered the oppression of women. Now, the Somalia-born activist faces losing her Dutch citizenship for lying to win asylum there. Madeleine Brand speaks with Perro de Yong, European editor for Radio Netherlands, about the story.

Georgia lawmakers are expected to pass a bill authorizing a Bible literacy class in public high schools. The class, "History and Literature of the Old and New Testament," will be taught with the Bible as the text. The bill does not require that schools teach the course, or that students take it. Emily Kopp of Georgia Public Broadcasting reports.

Drugs to treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder prompt continued debate. An advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration has recommended "black box" warnings for all, but a second panel, made up mostly of child psychiatrists and pediatricians, says the dangers do not merit such a warning.

After President Evo Morales nationalized Bolivia's natural gas industry, Brazil froze investments in Bolivia's energy sector. Some leaders in the region are wary of Morales' move toward Cuba's Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

Demonstrations against the Israeli military campaign in Lebanon have been growing on the streets of Arab capitals. Pro-American Arab leaders are recalibrating their positions. U.S. hopes of keeping them on board for a wider Middle East initiative may be eroding.

In a long-running government case, a federal judge rules that cigarette makers engaged in a 50-year conspiracy to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking. Anti-smoking groups are disappointed that permanent education programs aren't part of the ruling but believe the judge's language creates a strong arsenal for individual smokers to sue for damages for their own smoking-related diseases.

Naheed Phiroze Patel's debut novel Mirror Made of Rain is out in the U.S. this week.

The human brain definitely differs from the brains of our primate relatives. But how did we get such big brains? A paper in the journal Nature says part of the answer may lie in a snippet of DNA buried deep in the human genome.

Will the U.S. be able to salvage the remnants of the Summit of the Americas? And what does the growing boycott mean for U.S. influence in Latin America?

The pediatrician who directs the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement offers tips on how parents and caregivers can talk to children about school shootings.