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The Senate deadlocks on a bill that would change the 1996 welfare law to require more single mothers to work additional hours to qualify for benefits. The parties disagree over Democratic amendments to raise the minimum wage and Republican insistence on funds to promote marriage. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Ron Haskins, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Secretary of State Colin Powell tells a Senate hearing that the recent upsurge in violence in Iraq is "disquieting" but insists the United States won't be driven out. President Bush's supporters warn that the growing criticism of U.S. policy on Iraq undercuts efforts to establish a democracy in the country. Hear NPR's David Welna.

Residents of Fallujah brace for a response to the killing of four U.S. security contractor employees, whose bodies were then mutilated. The United States has said it will have a measured response to the attacks. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

U.S. Marines surround Fallujah and use loudspeakers to warn residents to stay inside until Tuesday. U.S. forces are preparing to move against the restive Iraqi city in response to grisly attacks last Wednesday, which killed four U.S. contractors. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Part church, part street market, part three-ring circus -- celebrating 100 years of spectacle at Times Square. NPR's Robert Smith offers a birthday tribute.

U.S. Marines in Iraq surrounding the embattled city of Fallujah are allowing women, children and the elderly to flee the fighting with militia forces -- but will not allow military-aged men to leave. The Marines are also allowing food, water and medicine to enter the city, but have turned away trucks full of men also trying to enter the city. Eric Niiler of member station KPBS, embedded with the 1st Marine Division, reports.

U.S. soldiers are involved in an operation to hunt down and destroy militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad's Sadr City. In Ramadi, 12 Marines die in intense battles. In Fallujah, U.S. rockets hit a mosque, reportedly killing dozens. Three days of clashes in the Sunni stronghold have killed as many as 30 U.S. soldiers and more than 150 Iraqis. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice will give sworn public testimony to the commission reviewing U.S. efforts to prevent terrorism before and after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Thursday. Rice's testimony comes as the commission is set to begin wrapping up its investigation. Hear NPR's Pam Fessler, NPR's Melissa Block and former deputy attorney general Jamie Gorelick.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika wins a second term with more than 80 percent of the vote. Western observers call Thursday's vote the country's first genuinely pluralist presidential elections since independence in 1962. Bouteflika's former prime minister, who finished second, claims the vote was rigged. Hear NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says elections to choose a new Iraqi government are possible by the end of 2004 -- but only if work begins immediately. Annan, delivering the findings of a U.N. report prepared by envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, added that due to political strife in the country, Iraq might not be ready to hold elections until 2005. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.

In the second installment of a three-part series on presidents and spirituality, commentator William McKenzie says President Bush's Biblical references have been put under the microscope more than those of past presidents. McKenzie is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News.

Katharine Gun will likely plead not guilty Wednesday in England to charges that she leaked a secret document regarding the war in Iraq to the British press. She says her actions were necessary in the face of the upcoming war. Commentator Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the press in 1971, discusses her case and the moral aspects of whistle-blowing.

Final results from Friday's disputed parliamentary elections in Iran are not expected for several days. A boycott urged by reformists after 2,500 reform candidates were disqualified may result in a lower turnout than a 67 percent showing four years ago, when reformists swept into power. NPR's Mike Shuster reports.

Consumer advocate Ralph Nader announces that he will run for president. Nader, who ran for president in 2000 on the Green Party ticket, said on NBC's Meet the Press that he plans to run as an independent. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and NPR's Mara Liasson.

Singer-songwriter Nellie McKay, 19, has been compared to both Doris Day and Eminem. Her debut CD, Get Away From Me, includes jazz, rap, blues, Latin, rock and more, reflecting her eclectic life — she was born in London and grew up in Harlem. Hear six songs from her performance in NPR's Studio 4A.

North Carolina Sen. John Edwards kicks off a three-day tour in delegate-rich California to garner support for the March 2 round of 10 Democratic presidential contests. Edwards courts new backing by lavishing praise on his one-time competitor for the nomination, former Vermont governor Howard Dean. NPR's John McChesney reports.

Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House and Senate take up President Bush's challenge to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Majority Leader Bill Frist says the Senate could take up such a bill by summer. But many warn the process of ratifying a constitutional amendment is often lengthy. Hear NPR's David Welna.

Suicide bombings and mortar attacks in Iraq leave more than 140 people dead and hundreds wounded in Baghdad and the holy city of Karbala. The nearly simultaneous attacks targeted Shiite shrines, where more than 2 million Shiite Muslims -- many of them pilgrims -- had come to observe the holy day of Ashoura. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

President George Bush calls Sen. John Kerry to congratulate him for the Tuesday wins that likely clinched the Democratic nomination for Kerry. The Bush-Cheney campaign is reportedly set to begin its media campaign later this week. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and NPR's Don Gonyea.

Democratic frontrunner Sen. John Kerry is declared the winner in Ohio, Maryland and Massachusetts, leading to talk that rival candidate Sen. John Edwards will bow out of contention for the Democratic party's presidential nomination. Edwards credits Kerry with running a strong campaign as he thanks his supporters during a speech at his campaign headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

A group of researchers is challenging the popular theory that the disappearance of dinosaurs on Earth was caused by the planet's collision with a single asteroid 65 million years ago. The scientists say the Yucatan Peninsula's Chicxulub crater -- often thought to be the result of the catastrophic strike -- is too old to have been involved in the creatures' demise. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

Heroin in the United States is cheaper and purer than perhaps ever before, creating a growing addiction crisis in communities not typically associated with the drug. John Walters, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, says federal officials are trying to curb the supply of heroin by targeting countries, such as Mexico and Colombia, that supply it. Hear Walters and NPR's Bob Edwards.

The U.S. Supreme Court has supposedly decided to overrule Roe V. Wade, according to a leaked first draft opinion obtained by Politico. The document has not been verified by NPR.

Sen. John Kerry celebrates his near-sweep of the 10 presidential contests Tuesday, with some 1,100 delegates at stake. Kerry thanked his supporters -- as well as his rival, Sen. John Edwards. Edwards, who earlier complimented Kerry on his victory, will reportedly drop out of the race Wednesday. Hear Kerry, NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Scott Horsley.

Sen. John Edwards heads back to North Carolina, reportedly to announce the end of his presidential campaign after failing to capture any of the 10 states in Tuesday's contests. Hear NPR's Melissa Block, NPR's Mara Liasson and NPR's Adam Hochberg.