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Songwriter Gillian Welch describes her music. Welch's duet with Alison Krauss was a highlight of the Grammy award-winning soundtrack to the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou.

Thousands of Iraqis in Fallujah chant anti-U.S. slogans after an explosion at a local mosque kills at least nine people. Fallujah residents blame U.S. forces for the blast, but U.S. officials deny involvement. Meanwhile, six American soldiers are wounded in two separate attacks in and around Baghdad. NPR's Kate Seelye reports.

Howard Dean, who opposed the U.S.-led war in Iraq, concedes the action has provided some benefits to the Iraqi people. But the Democratic presidential hopeful says the world may face greater dangers if a fundamentalist regime emerges in Iraq. Hear an extended interview with the former Vermont governor.

The U.S. imports more oil from Latin America than from all Middle Eastern countries combined. Oil wealth has long generated dreams of prosperity, but in the lands of production, the reserves have often brought political and economic instability. In the first of a three-part series, Sandy Tolan looks at what went wrong with Venezuela's oil dream.

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Rob Bourdaud'hui, a British-born U.S. resident and former disc jockey, about what he's listening to this summer. Listen to clips of his ideas.

The Polyphonic Spree consider themselves a symphonic rock band, and play upbeat songs of happiness and celebration. But in their uniform white robes, the 23 members of the band look more like a religious cult. NPR's Bob Boilen profiles the band — hear a cut from their debut album, featured in All Songs Considered.

Bernie Barker, a retired nuclear engineer, was 60 when he launched his new career: dancing for women. Guinness World Records has since recognized him as the oldest male stripper. Hear his story on Morning Edition.

The New York Subway system is designed to move millions of people quickly and efficiently. But on any given Friday afternoon, trombonist Alex Lo Dico and his jazz band can bring commuters to a complete halt. The subways have been Lo Dico's stage for two decades now, and his philosophy is "swing 'til you drop." NPR's Robert Smith has the first in a summer series of street musician profiles.

It was the 21-year-old’s first game since signing a $182 million, 11-year contract in the offseason.

Robert Siegel talks with Hugo Young, a columnist for The Guardian newspaper in London. Young talks about the debate in Britain over whether intelligence on Iraqi wepaons of mass destruction was manipulated by 10 Downing Street in order to bolster support for war.

Lucinda Williams' latest album is full of love songs, but they're the kind you might play over and over after an ugly breakup. "I guess you could write a good song if your heart hadn't been broken, but I don't know of anyone whose heart hasn't been broken," Williams tells NPR's Bob Edwards. Hear samples from 'World Without Tears'.

Chinese epidemiologists believe SARS may have reached humans through food handlers who prepared wild game for restaurant use in southern China. An official ban has put a dent in wild animal trade, but has not completely wiped out black-market operations. NPR's Rob Gifford reports.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair must both defend against accusations that they exaggerated Iraq's weapons threat in the months leading up to the war. But Bush's constituency is more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Fifty years ago Thursday, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed for selling America's nuclear weapons secrets to the Soviet Union. In his new book, An Execution in the Family, the Rosenbergs' son, Robert Meeropol, revisits the much-debated case against his parents. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Meeropol.

The 24-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback died early Saturday after being struck by a dump truck while walking on a South Florida interstate, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

A growing market for foods and other consumer products colored with "natural" red dye has sparked a booming industry in Peru. NPR's Martin Kaste reports that thousands of families make a living harvesting the source of the dye -- tiny insect called cochineals. See photos of the insects being harvested, and discover the true source of the red dye. (Please note this correction which aired in 'All Things Considered' on June 19, 2003: ..."my description yesterday of the Cochineal insect as a Peruvian beetle. While we could claim that this is a vague layman's usage of 'beetle' that would include even certain Volkswagens, that would not wash with Dr. Paul Johnson, professor of entomology at South Dakota State University in Brookings. He calls it, 'a serious entomological faux pas.' In a further unkind cut, Professor Johnson writes: 'I would expect such cavalier biology from your colleagues at Fox, but factual inaccuracies on NPR?! ... Beetles are exceedingly distinctive insects that are well-known and well characterized in any novitiate-level biology book, as well as advanced entomology references... Cochineal insects are not beetles and not even closely related, let alone not even similar in appearance (but rather) a species of scale insect. Shame on NPR for allowing Western entomo-phobic disregard for insects to influence the misrepresentation of biological facts.")

American forces in Iraq capture Abid Hamid Mahmud, Saddam Hussein's security chief and No. 4 on the U.S. list of 55 most-wanted Iraqi leaders. And U.S. troops raid farmhouses near the northern city of Tikrit in an effort to root out supporters of the former Baathist regime. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

The House and Senate intelligence committees launched hearings this week on the Bush administration's handling of pre-war intelligence on Iraq. But while Democrats call for a probe of whether the White House mishandled intelligence reports, Republicans insist the hearings do not amount to an investigation of wrongdoing. NPR's David Welna reports.

A rocket-propelled grenade is fired at a U.S. Army ambulance south of Baghdad, killing a U.S. soldier traveling inside. The attack is one of at least four launched against U.S. targets Thursday, killing two Iraqi bystanders and wounding at least a dozen others. NPR's Tom Bullock reports.

After 17 months without participating in high-stakes golf, Woods says he's thankful to be competing at all.

The New Leviathan Oriental Fox-Trot Orchestra may sound anachronistic, that's what it's all about. This 18-piece New Orleans group is dedicated to playing and preserving the music of the early 20th century. Host Bob Edwards talks with one of the orchestra's founding members, George Schmidt, about its latest CD, Burning Sands. It's a tongue-in-cheek collection of Middle Eastern songs, including "Rebecca Came Back from Mecca" and "Lena the Queen of Palestina."

While Capitol Hill is consumed with debate over the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, public opinion seems less vocal. NPR asked three reporters to ask three groups of people whether it matter if weapons of mass destruction are found in Iraq. Russell Lewis of member station KPBS reports that to a group of vets in San Diego, finding the weapons is something they believe will happen, and their faith that they exist in Iraq is unshaken. NPR's Tom Goldman found a group of people in Portland, Ore., who are much more skeptical of U.S. officials' claims that the weapons exist -- and believe lies may have been told to build support for the war. And Nancy Solomon found a group in New Jersey who have mixed feelings about finding weapons of mass destruction.

In the last of a three-part series on Iraq's diverse ethnic and religious groups, NPR's Ivan Watson reports the Kurdish controlled northern part of the country remains stable. The two ruling Kurdish factions seeking control of their region have combined forces and are seeking effective ways to assimilate with the rest of the country.

The Iraqi city of Fallujah has no money of its own and relies on U.S. funding for its budget. So while the city has a new mayor, the real power rests with a young U.S. Army captain, NPR's Eric Westervelt reports. See photos from in and around the mayor's office.

The top military commander in Iraq releases more information on the operation that led to the killing of Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein. Members of the former Iraqi regime identified the bodies, and dental records indicate a near-perfect match on both men. Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez also announces the capture of no. 11 on the U.S. most-wanted list in Iraq. NPR's Guy Raz reports.