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A joint study by inspectors general for the Pentagon and State Department says Iraq's police service needs to do a better job of recruiting. The 96-page report released Monday said poor vetting procedures have admitted recruits with criminal backgrounds and even insurgents planning terrorist attacks.

He's the world's first Hasidic Jewish reggae star. His rap and beat-box skills can be heard on his truly unique album, Live At Stubb's.

Four of the largest unions in the AFL-CIO plan to boycott the organization's 50th anniversary convention. The unions involved comprise about one-third of the AFL-CIO's 13 million members.

Brown and black athletes like Jeron Wilson continue to shape the sport of skateboarding, which has grown from a cult pastime into a big-money international spectator sport.

Entrepreneur Paul English has produced a "must have" for the modern consumer. It's a guide to the customer service phone systems of major corporations. The big payoff? The guide tells you the quickest way to reach a human.

The new book by Susan Spungen, the former chef and "food stylist" for the domestic diva's homemaking empire, focuses on low-stress entertaining. Spungen says the book helps readers get in touch with their inner Martha — only without the ankle bracelet.

Critics of President Bush say he misled the nation. In speeches, the president and Vice President Dick Cheney now accuse their critics of rewriting history. We check the facts with a pair of reporters who covered some of that history.

President Bush, meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing, pressed his government to expand political and religious freedoms. The president began his day worshipping at a Protestant church -- one of the few state-sanctioned Christian churches in the capital. In response, Hu said China would work to develop human rights.

Link Wray is the man who is said to have inspired rock-and-roll legends such as Pete Townsend and Neil Young with his power chord guitar playing. Link Wray was 76 when he died earlier this month at his home in Copenhagen. Wray's style was considered to be the foundation for heavy metal and punk music.

President Bush nominates New Jersey's Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. The conservative federal judge would replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate.

When people think of New Orleans, they often think of food. Before Katrina, the restaurant industry was one of the city's largest employers. But two months after the hurricane, only about one in six of the city's restaurants have reopened.

Commentator Julie Zickefoose likes to stop and visit with one of her neighbors in the rural part of Ohio where she lives: Buck, an enormous Angus bull. He has taught her much about the nature of life, death and friendship.

President George Bush on Monday nominated Judge Samuel Alito with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Noah Adams speaks with Slate legal analyst Dahlia Lithwick about Alito, who's sometimes called "Scalito" because he has similar conservative judicial philosophy to that of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Noah Adams speaks with Slate financial columnist Daniel Gross about a Bush administration proposal to overhaul the tax code -- a plan that includes changes to the popular mortgage interest deduction.

If confirmed, Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito will become the fifth Roman Catholic currently serving on the high court. Noah Adams speaks with Slate columnist Will Saletan about what the predominance of Catholic justices says about the presidents who choose them, and the politics that lead to their nominations.

In Fort Worth, Texas, Monday night, Bobby Bragan made history as the oldest man to have managed a professional baseball game. He was ejected in the early innings for arguing balls and strikes with the plate umpire.

David Greenberger travels the country talking with older people and collecting their stories. In Chattanooga, Tenn., Edna Wofford told him about knowing a bit too much about the future. A collection of stories is on the CD The Mayor of Tennessee River: Music By Shaking Ray Levis.

Israeli army and police work to evict Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip. Settlers and Jewish protesters resisted the eviction in many places, but a number of the settlements are now empty, and Israeli officials say the operation is going more quickly than expected.

A Pentagon task force investigating possible religious intolerance at the U.S. Air Force Academy reports shortcomings, but no intentional discrimination based on religion. Cadets have complained of pressure to attend chapel and join prayer groups.

Producer David Sommerstein of North Country Public Radio presents the story of 17-year-old Brittany LaBrake. She signed herself out of foster care at age 17 and rented a house with her boyfriend, who became something of an emotional safety net. The boyfriend has now been called to duty in Iraq.

Six months after a tsunami struck the region, tourism in the Thai resort town of Phuket has yet to rebound. Tourist revenue -- the community's lifeblood -- is down by half. Hotel rooms remain empty, while scores of airlines have ended or cut back service.

Michele Norris talks with Natasha Richardson, lead actress in the new film Asylum, which was adapted from the book by Patrick McGrath. Richardson plays Stella, the wife of an accomplished psychiatrist. She falls obsessively in love with a patient at her husband's institution. Richardson and Norris discuss the psychology of the attraction as seen in the film as well as the background behind the film, including the role Richardson's real-life husband, Liam Neeson, played in its development.

Millions of people listen to J. Ralph's music, yet he's far from a household name. The 29-year-old musician's dreamy, hypnotic compositions have become seemingly ubiquitous in commercials, appearing in ads for Volkswagen, Nike and others. Now they are collected on a new CD.

Soda companies today announced they will restrict the sales of their drinks in schools. Under new voluntary guidelines, the beverage industry will remove all carbonated soft drinks from elementary schools and remove all sugared drinks from middle schools during school hours. The new restrictions will apply to new contracts only and will take several years to take effect nationwide.

An Army intelligence officer, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, says his unit, known as "Able Danger," identified four future Sept. 11 hijackers as al Qaeda members in the United States -- well before the 2001 attacks. He says the 9/11 Commission did not thoroughly investigate this data.