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Russian, French and German leaders wind up two days of meetings held to discuss postwar Iraq, and reassert their demands for a leading U.N. role in postwar affairs. But the chief opponents of the U.S.-led war cautiously welcome the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime. NPR's Lawrence Sheets reports.

U.S. Marines have moved into the Iraqi city of Kut, which fell with little resistance. NPR's Steve Inskeep spent an afternoon at a checkpoint just outside of Kut, where Marines stood guard trying to prevent Iraqi fighters from fleeing the city. The experience at the checkpoint hints at the challenges U.S. forces face now that central authority has collapsed.

Reporter John Lawrence in Baghdad says units of the 101st Airborne Division entered Baghdad yesterday fully expecting to go into combat against Iraqi forces in one part of the city. There was no battle, but the troops had their first encounters with Iraqi civilians.

After days of looting and lawlessness in Baghdad, disorder in the Iraqi capital slowly subsides. Iraqi policemen volunteer to participate in joint patrols with U.S. soldiers. And buses and taxis return to the streets, though most stores remain closed. Hear NPR's Jackie Northam.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says more peacekeeping forces may be needed to maintain order in Iraq. He says no decisions have been made, but suggests other nations may supply some of their own forces to provide security as Iraq moves to form a new government. Hear Dana Priest of The Washington Post.

Sporadic battles continue in northern Iraq. In the Kurdish-controlled town of Sulamaniyah, many fighters loyal to Saddam Hussein move though the area disguised as civilians. NPR's Juan Williams talks to Michael Ware of Time magazine.

Jay Garner, the retired general appointed by the Bush administration to oversee Iraq's reconstruction, arrives in Baghdad. Garner says his first priority is to restore basic services and rebuild damaged infrastructure. Garner's visit comes amid reports that two senior members of the Saddam Hussein regime are in U.S. custody. Hear NPR's Jackie Northam.

NPR's Jackie Northam in Baghdad reports on the emergence of new political parties in Iraq, each trying to fill the vacuum left by the ouster of Saddam Hussein's regime. Political party offices are sprouting up all over the capital, representing Islamist groups as well as leftists, monarchists and former high-ranking military officers.

U.S. military officials hold the first discussion about creating a new Iraqi government. Eighty representatives of Iraqi society participate -- half from within, half from opposition groups abroad. Meanwhile, in Kut, an anti-American tribal leader occupies city hall in defiance of U.S. Marines. Hear from NPR's Mike Shuster and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Living conditions remain grim in Baghdad, where many places still are without power, and there's a shortage of clean water. At many hospitals, staff are not showing up to care for the patients, and doctors and nurses want more security. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Roland Huguenin-Benjamin of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

NPR's Joe Palca has the first in a series of stories marking the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the double helix, the three-dimensional chemical structure of DNA. A half-century ago this week, the British science journal, Nature, published a one-page report by James Watson and Francis Crick, which immediately explained how genetic instructions are passed from one generation to the next.

Although past experiences have taught the military to prepare for looting and lawlessness after the destruction of a government, the U.S. failed to prepare adequately in Iraq. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that not enough resources or troops were devoted to security.

President Bush underscores tax day by renewing his call for another round of tax cuts. Bush wanted $726 billion more in cuts, but the Republican-controlled Congress set the target lower. A poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government indicates Americans don't see a need for more tax relief. NPR's David Welna reports.

The World Health Organization cautions travelers to avoid China's Shanxi province, Beijing and Toronto, saying the regions are high-risk areas for the deadly respiratory disease called SARS. But Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman and other officials call the warning an overreaction. Hear NPR's Richard Knox.

In a sprawling Baghdad neighborhood known as Saddam City, Muslim clerics have formed vigilante groups to stop looting and restore law and order. U.S. Marines in the mostly Shiite neighborhood have gratefully allowed the clerics to take on this responsibility to reduce the likelihood of clashes between American forces and the local population. So far, the arrangement seems to be working. NPR's John Burnett talks about what he's seen there.

As the war in Iraq winds down, a private research group begins efforts to count the number of Iraqi civilians killed in the conflict. But the Center for Defense Information says the task is complicated by ongoing fighting, and by the lack of an official government in Iraq. Hear Mark Burgess of the Center for Defense Information.

In a middle class neighborhood on Baghdad's southern edge, dozens of unexploded bombs lie on the road and hang in trees. American soldiers are gradually dealing with the threat. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

In a further sign the U.S. is shifting its focus in the Persian Gulf from fighting to nation building, Gen. Tommy Franks went to the Iraqi capital for the first time since the start of the war. Meanwhile the Pentagon's comptroller estimates the cost of the Iraq war so far at $20 billion. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Alan Cheuse reviews the novel Shelter from the Storm by Michael Mewshaw. Cheuse says Mewshaw is a thinking person's thriller writer.

Host Bob Edwards details the first in a series of new White House chat sessions that took place Wednesday. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card became the first of the president's senior administration staffers to take questions from the public through the Internet, although he had the choice of which ones he would answer.

Huge crowds of Iraqi Shiite Muslims converge in Karbala, Iraq. They are making a pilgrimage for one of Shiite Islam's holiest celebrations -- one banned for decades by Saddam Hussein. Some Shiite leaders hope pilgrims will demonstrate against the United States. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports, and NPR's Melissa Block talks to Mahmoud M. Ayoub, professor of Islamic studies and comparative religion at Temple University.

U.S. officials in Iraq discount Mohammed Mohsen al-Zubaidi's claim to be the mayor of Baghdad. Zubaidi says he was elected by a group of clerics, academics and tribal leaders -- and he says he's in frequent contact with U.S. military commanders. NPR's Scott Simon reports.

NPR's Melissa Block talks with NPR's Jackie Northam reporting from Baghdad.

NPR's Joanne Silberner reports on the way genetic differences affect the way drugs react in individuals and how it can affect their lives. This is the second part in Morning Edition's four-part series on the discovery of the structure of DNA.

NPR's Steve Inskeep in Karbala reports on the arrival of tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims who have gone to honor the Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, and one of the most revered figures in Shiite Islam. Some Shiite leaders have urged the pilgrims to use the occasion to demonstrate their opposition to the American military occupation of Iraq.