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Afghanistan is preparing for new national elections in September, but a major obstacle could be the nation's powerful warlords. NPR's Renee Montagne recently visited the Afghan city of Herat, on the border with Iran, to profile one of the warlords whose cooperation -- and willingness to give up some power -- may hold the fate of a nation. See exclusive photo essays, and hear more stories in this series.

He announced in a press conference on Clearwater Beach that much of the money will remain in the greater Tampa Bay region.

Eric Orner's book isn't just a great story, it's an enveloping visual experience crafted by a terrific artist; even if one paged through it without looking at the words, it would be a good read.

In her new book, Georgetown University law professor Sheryll Cashin argues that modern segregation is often by choice -- a choice that involves finding a neighborhood that offers strong schools and safe streets. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Cashin.

An unusual anti-communist ordinance passed by the city council of Garden Grove -- a California town with a large Vietnamese-American population -- draws criticism from Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesman. Many residents of Garden Grove and nearby Westminster fled Vietnam when communist forces took over the nation in 1975. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from Hanoi.

The first day of state-recognized same-sex marriage in the United States was a whirlwind for gay couples tying the knot in Massachusetts. Weddings took place from western Massachusetts to the tip of Cape Cod, with couples hailed as "pioneers." But the unions will not be recognized by the federal government or in most other states. Hear NPR's Tovia Smith and NPR's Robert Siegel.

A federal elections panel meets to examine the future of touch-screen voting machines, as several states reconsider the machines' reliability. Last week, concerns about accuracy prompted California's secretary of state to decertify 42,000 machines in 14 counties for the November election. John Myers of member station KQED reports.

In a turning point in American history, the Supreme Court ruled 50 years ago that separate educational facilities for blacks were inherently unequal. A look at how Americans reacted, through the letters they wrote to their president, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In the latest allegation of abuse to emerge from Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi-born Swedish citizen says he's filed a compensation claim with the U.S. Army for torture he endured at the prison camp last fall. Now recuperating in the United States, Saleh -- who asked NPR not to use his first name -- says he also witnessed U.S. prison guards kill five inmates without provocation. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports. [Editor's note: This piece contains graphic language.]

Best-selling author John Irving is known for creating sweeping narratives spiked with melodrama and full of vivid characters, complex plots and overwhelming information. It's easy to see why he credits his style to lessons in storytelling from Victorian author Charles Dickens. For Intersections, a series on artists' influences, NPR's Ketzel Levine reports.

In the first of a three-part series commemorating the 40th anniversary of the March on Washington, NPR's Juan Williams has a behind the scenes look at the making of the legendary march.

Composer Charles Ives died 50 years ago Wednesday. Though Ives is now widely recognized as one of America's most important composers, his work was not performed during his most creative years. Biographer Jan Swafford says Charles Ives was a "Walt Whitman of sound," able to write pieces in traditional European styles, but with an American accent. Swafford has a remembrance.

The Pentagon severs funding to Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress. Chalabi's home and offices were raided Thursday by Iraqi police backed by U.S. forces. was previously promoted by the Bush administration as a possible choice to lead Iraq. He now stands accused of corruption and of A prominent Iraqi exile, Chalabi providing U.S. intelligence to Iran. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Stephen Cambone, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, is a focus of the ongoing investigation into abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. Members of Congress and military investigators are looking at the role that military intelligence officers under Cambone's authority might have played in the scandal. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports.

The Ride is the latest album from Los Lobos, a band known for mixing folk, blues, rock and Latin rhythms. The group, which marks its 30th anniversary this year, was formed by classmates at an East Los Angeles school. The Ride, their 12th album, is on the Hollywood Records/Mammoth label. Critic David Greenberger has a review.

Elvin Jones, a renowned drummer and member of the John Coltrane Quartet, died Tuesday in a New Jersey hospital of heart failure. He was 76. Jones' powerful, complex playing helped changed the role of the drummer in jazz groups and influenced a generation of rockers, including The Doors, the Grateful Dead and Santana. NPR's Renee Montagne has a remembrance.

In the second-part of a National Geographic Radio Expedition to the Sea of Cortez, NPR's John McChesney reports on the observations biologists have made along the coast, near the City of La Paz.

Friday would have been the 100th birthday of pianist, singer and songwriter Fats Waller. Critic Jim Fusilli says that a new CD collection commemorating Waller (Fats Waller: Centennial Collection, RCA Records, 2004) is good, but he wishes there were more.

British singer and pianist Jamie Cullum, 24, puts a contemporary-rock spin on jazz standards. He says he's trying to adapt jazz to speak to his own generation. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Cullum about his new album, Twentysomething.

Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba blames a "failure in leadership" and "lack of discipline" for abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Taguba, testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he found no evidence that the abuses were part of an official U.S. policy. Hear NPR's David Welna, NPR's Michele Norris and Sen. Evan Bayh.

NPR's Michele Norris talks with Jad Adams, author of Hideous Absinthe: A History of the Devil in a Bottle, about the cultural role the potent green liquor played among artistic circles in 1890s France.

The State Department releases its annual report on international terrorism. The official list of "state sponsors" is unchanged, though Libya and Iraq might soon be taken off the list. The other state sponsors listed are Cuba, Sudan, Syria, Iran and North Korea. The report does not define Iraqi insurgents as terrorists, noting that most attacks there are against soldiers. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

NPR's Melissa Block talks to Oliver and Sheila Lawn, former code-breakers in World War II who have been called in to try to decipher the meaning of mysterious letters carved into a monument at Shugborough House in Staffordshire, England. The letters -- D.O.U.O. S.V.A.V.V.M. -- are believed to be a code, and their meaning has never been established. Some have even speculated that they could be linked to the Holy Grail.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is taking a pounding in the local press for his decision to expel a New York Times reporter who wrote an unflattering article about the president's drinking. The case is the latest public-relations disaster for Lula, who has seen his popularity dip after being elected a year and a half ago in a surge of affection and hope. NPR's Martin Kaste reports.

Bill Frisell is renowned as a versatile musician with a repertoire of blues, country, and rock — but he says he's a jazz guitarist at heart. Frisell describes his first foray into jazz, when he heard master guitarist Wes Montgomery. Marcie Sillman reports.