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A suicide car bomber attacks a three-car U.S. diplomatic convoy in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing four Americans. And in Basra, British troops are clashing with Iraqi militias.

For our series "Outbreak Voices," hospital chaplain Stephanie Ramos of Los Angeles recounts what two years of her ministry has been like, comforting the sick and grieving affected by COVID-19.

Host Steve Inskeep talks with Majora Carter, one of the newly announced recipients of this year's MacArthur Fellowships. Carter founded a community organization that researches and develops sustainable projects for South Bronx.

Researchers are suggesting that flawed construction -- not storm surges -- likely caused key floodwalls around New Orleans to fail. They say the waters of Lake Pontchartrain never got high enough to rise above the walls and erode their foundations, the early explanation for the levee collapses.

Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans officially welcomes back its first residents. The Algiers area is the first to open. But some officials think it's too soon because of contaminated water and lack of utilities, among other problems.

Joshua Bell has won a Grammy, and his playing helped composer John Corigliano to an Oscar for The Red Violin. At 37, Bell has played with every major orchestra in the world. He joins Fred Child for music and conversation in NPR's Studio 4A.

Hurricane Rita gains strength as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico on a path toward Texas, prompting mandatory evacuation orders for much of the Texas coast. But its path may mean New Orleans experiences only rain and wind. Even so, the city continues its evacuation.

Even before Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans' public schools faced teacher shortages, crumbling schools and deficient supplies. Steve Inskeep speaks with Bill Roberti, chief turnaround officer at the crisis management firm Alvarez & Marsal. Roberti was handling the problems in the Louisiana schools before the hurricane struck.

Police officers and their families are gathered in Washington for National Police Week. Scott Simon speaks with Congresswoman Val Demings, a former police officer, about the state of policing.

Paul Eisenstein, publisher of the Internet magazine TheCarConnection.com, tells Renee Montagne that Ford has trailed competitors in design and engineering technology of late. They discuss what steps Ford is taking to appeal to tech-savvy customers.

A proposed anti-gang law in Massachusetts targets the intimidation of witnesses in criminal trials by making it harder for defendants to find out who has given grand jury evidence against them. From WBUR in Boston, Monica Brady-Myerov reports.

Job cuts and plant closings are in the cards for Ford Motor Company, which announces a major restructuring plan Monday. The automaker is attempting to regain its footing in a highly competitive market.

Ford is embarking on a major restructuring plan, including thousands of layoffs and a number of plant closings. What does the future hold for the nation's second-largest automaker?

Scientists scrutinizing comet and stellar particles from the Stardust spacecraft are ecstatic about what they're seeing. Stardust floated gently to Earth Sunday in Utah, after a seven-year, 3-billion-mile journey to Comet Wild 2. Today, the mission's scientists reported their first findings.

The request came after Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration appealed a ruling Thursday by Leon County Circuit Judge Layne Smith, who issued a temporary injunction against the redistricting plan.

Japanese singer-songwriter Ayano Tsuji bucks her nation's J-pop trend. In high school, she loved folk music, but found her hands were too small to play guitar. So she turned to the ukulele. Producer Robert Rand has a profile.

At the age of 82, Johnny Grant's enthusiasm for Hollywood and the Walk of Fame is undiminished. The "honorary mayor of Hollywood" loves the unveiling ceremony and its bronze stars on Hollywood Boulevard..

The evacuation of the Superdome is temporarily suspended when shots are fired at a military helicopter. Meanwhile, the first buses carrying hurricane refugees from New Orleans have arrived at the Houston Astrodome.

Country bluesman R.L. Burnside died this week in Memphis at 78. He worked a good part of his life as a sharecropper in the Mississippi Delta. He made his first recording in his 40s and didn't become a fulltime professional musician until he was in his 60s.

As the U.S. approaches 1 million COVID-19 deaths, cases and hospitalizations have started rising again, deaths are poised to creep up again, and the nation is on alert for yet another surge.

Scott Simon remembers the roughly one million lost to COVID-19 with a reading of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem, "Dirge without Music.

Contributor Alexander Tuerk revisits departed family and the virtual worlds that sustained him in uncertain times.

Like so many victims of Hurricane Katrina, commentator Chris Rose managed to escape New Orleans before the storm devastated the region. But now he finds himself out of touch with his family and friends.

President Bush announces that his father and former president Bill Clinton will head up fundraising efforts for recovery following Hurricane Katrina. The two led a fundraising mission after the Asian tsunami last December. Bush and the former presidents met in the Oval Office this afternoon.

Grammy-winning rapper and actor Will Smith has had success in music, movies and television. He began his career as the Fresh Prince with DJ Jazzy Jeff. Since then, he has acted in numerous films and been nominated for an Oscar, for his performance in Ali. (This interview originally aired Dec. 17, 2001.)