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Americans woke up today to something that's been hidden from view during the war in Iraq -- flag-draped caskets of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. A policy dating back to the first Bush administration bans media coverage of caskets arriving at military bases. The photographs were released to First Amendment activist Russ Kick, who had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to get the images. NPR's Melissa Block examines the "no photo" policy, and what it means for a country at war to witness the return of their dead.

At least 12 U.S. Marines are dead as fighting rages in the city of Ramadi, near Fallujah. Dozens of insurgents reportedly attacked a Marine position near a government building, leaving more than 20 wounded. Hear NPR's Eric Westervelt and NPR's Michele Norris.

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice testifies before the Sept. 11 panel, amid a highly politicized atmosphere fueled by allegations that the White House ignored the al Qaeda threat. White House officials are looking to Rice to vindicate their plans to address terrorism prior to the 2001 attacks. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR's Larry Abramson.

Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), head of the Foreign Relations Committee, holds hearings this week on the Bush administration's plan to transfer political power to Iraqis by a June 30 deadline. Some expert witnesses doubt the administration's ability to pull off a smooth and secure transfer of power. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

Three Japanese civilians held hostage in Iraq are freed by their captors, a week after being kidnapped near Baghdad. The three -- two aid workers and a journalist -- were received by Sunni clerics who negotiated their release. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

Families have released the names of three of the four victims killed and mutilated in grisly attacks in Fallujah Wednesday. The victims were private contractors working security detail in Iraq, and included two former Army Rangers and an ex-Navy SEAL. NPR's Adam Hochberg reports.

From member station KQED in San Francisco, Jason Margolis reports on the life and death of Major Mark Taylor, an Army surgeon who died last month in Iraq.

Though much of the attention in Iraq is focused on violence against Americans and the Iraqis who support them, the country is also trying to cope with a wave of sectarian attacks. Over the past month, a series of attacks against Shiite and Sunni Muslims have caused some to fear a civil war is brewing. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

Encouraged by a Food and Drug Administration ruling last year banning weight-loss supplements containing ephedra, a consumer advocacy group targets at least a dozen other dietary supplements. The FDA had never before banned a dietary supplement, and it took years to agree on a ban on ephedra. NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports.

An ongoing study by sociologist Robert Cushing examines the list of U.S. military deaths in Iraq and reveals an apparent statistical anomaly: soldiers and Marines from rural areas are dying at higher rates than troops from cities and suburbs. NPR's Howard Berkes looks at the research and at a Nevada family's loss.

Karen Hughes, a top advisor to President Bush, says the Bush administration's decision to allow National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice testify before the Sept. 11 commission proves it wants to be open with the American public about its actions before and after the attacks. Hughes has written a new book about her life in politics, Ten Minutes from Normal. She speaks with NPR's Juan Williams.

U.S. commanders say American forces will respond to last week's killings of four civilian contractors in Fallujah... but it will come at a time and place the Marines choose. Meanwhile, three Iraqis accused of launching rocket attacks on the Marine base there are arrested. Hear NPR's Howard Berkes and Eric Niiler of member station KPBS, who is embedded with the First Marine Division.

The "echo effect," the "snowball effect" and false assumptions -- these were some of the reasons why intelligence agencies around the world were, to use former chief weapons inspector David Kay's phrase, "all wrong" about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. European intelligence is often derivative of U.S. intelligence, and vice versa, creating trans-Atlantic echoes that seem to corroborate each other. Israeli assessments got analyzed by U.S. intelligence, which tended to bolster the assessment as they were passed on to other governments, creating the snowball effect. And governments around the world assumed that because they could not prove that Iraq destroyed its weapons of mass destruction, Iraq must still have them. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with journalist Matt Wald, author of an article questioning the optimistic vision of the so-called "hydrogen economy" published in the May 2004 issue of Scientific American. Wald talks about the shortcomings of fuel-cell technology, and why some experts say the technology may not meet expectations.

Artist and MIT professor Krzysztof Wodiczko has created The St. Louis Projection, a community art project about the effects of violence and the healing power of public discourse. The piece, which will be projected the evenings of April 15-17 onto the side of the historic Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis, includes testimony by city residents who have lost loved ones to violence, as well with the remorseful stories of prisoners now serving time at the Missouri State Correctional Facility in Potosi. NPR's Greg Allen reports.

With Easter only days away, hatmakers are hustling to fill their orders for Easter bonnets. NPR's Michele Norris visits with Estella Wheeler, who still does a brisk business sustaining the mostly African-American tradition of wearing hats every Sunday morning.

Operators of America's mass transit systems have increased security in the wake of the Madrid train bombings, which killed nearly 200 and injured thousands more. Officials say the public's help is critical to spotting suspicious activity. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

Insurgents launch mortars at an Iraqi prison, killing 22 prisoners and injuring an estimated 92 others. U.S.-led forces in Iraq are using the Abu Ghraib prison to hold suspected Saddam Hussein sympathizers and insurgents. It's unclear why the prison was targeted. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Philip Reeves.

More than 60 people are killed and several hundred others injured in a wave of explosions in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Three almost simultaneous blasts, believed to be car bombs, target Iraqi police stations at rush hour. Victims include school children aboard a minibus passing by at the time. Another bomb targets an Iraqi police training facility. Hear NPR's Emily Harris.

Israeli police in full riot gear stormed a sensitive Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims on Friday after Palestinian youths hurled stones at a gate where they were stationed.

The apparent mass grave seen in satellite images covers a space larger than three football fields. The imagery shows rows of graves stretching away from an existing cemetery in Manhush, near Mariupol.

It's still an open question to what degree our planet will remain habitable in the coming years. Elizabeth Cripps offers an urgent message in What Climate Justice Means and Why We Should Care.

Coachella is back after being shuttered by the pandemic. We take a look at the Do LaB stage, created by three brothers, as a renegade event.

From solar panels to electric buses — the Biden Administration wants to make it easier for schools to tap more than $5.5 billion for climate-friendly upgrades.

Sure, you don't have to wear a mask on airplanes, buses and ride shares anymore, but you still might want to depending on the circumstances. Here's what experts say about the risks.