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Death row inmate Steven Oken contested Maryland's method of performing lethal injections, claiming it violated the constitutional right against cruel and unusual punishment -- but he lost when the U.S. Supreme Court approved his execution. NPR's Mike Pesca reports on the medical effects of lethal injection, and the argument over the method's constitutionality.

Slate Dan Gross explains why so many foreigners are buying U.S. government bonds -- and why it's not such a good investment.

Slate senior editor Andy Bowers explains why some Wall Street Journal reporters withheld their bylines from stories for several days this week. It was a "byline strike" -- a mild form of labor action designed to get management's attention.

As Father's Day approaches, writer Janus Adams celebrates the men in her family that helped raise her.

A staff report delivered to the bipartisan commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks finds "no credible evidence" that Saddam Hussein cooperated with al Qaeda in those attacks. The staff report said Osama bin Laden contacted the Iraqi government about gaining support from that country but had been rebuffed. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

American support for the war in Iraq is stronger now than it was a month ago, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. The poll's findings also show an improvement in President Bush's standing over the past month. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center.

The Sept. 11 commission finds "no credible evidence" that Iraq was involved in the 2001 terrorist attacks, although al Qaeda did approach Saddam Hussein about a collaboration. Members of the Bush administration have insisted that Hussein had ties to Osama bin Laden. The panel is holding its final two days of hearings in Washington. Hear NPR's Ron Elving.

NPR's Alex Chadwick talks with ESPN sportscaster Sal Masakela about the Detroit Pistons' victory last night over the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals.

A remembrance of 13-year-old poet and author Mattie Stepanek, who died Tuesday of a rare form of muscular dystrophy that had already claimed the lives of his three older siblings. His mother also has the illness. Four books of Mattie's Stepanek's poetry have been published.

The International AIDS Conference begins today in Bangkok, Thailand. NPR's Richard Knox visited a hospice that treats AIDS patients in the city. Located in a Buddhist temple, it's the largest AIDS sanctuary in Thailand. There, he met one patient who was left abandoned at the temple by his relatives.

Dina Temple-Raston reports on refugees fleeing western Sudan as Arab militia sweep through villages in violent raids. The United Nations has called the raids in Sudan an ethnic cleansing campaign against black Sudanese.

On Earth Day this year, President Bush and Sen. Kerry extolled the virtues of conservation, clean air, and wetlands. While the environment has never played a deciding role in a presidential election, these issues are often a critical part of how the candidates define themselves and each other. This election is proving to be no different.

The Michael Moore documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11 is harshly critical of President Bush's response to the events of Sept. 11 and the war in Iraq. But supporters and opponents of the president both see ways to use the movie to their advantage. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

NPR's Alex Chadwick talks with Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the Congressional Subcommittee on Africa of the House International Relations Committee, about how the U.S. government and the international community are responding to allegations of ethnic cleansing of black Africans by the Arab-dominated government of Sudan.

NPR's Susan Stamberg takes a mid-year pause to reflect on the centennials being marked in 2004. Her list of individuals and institutions making their debut in 1904 includes actors Cary Grant and Sir John Gielgud, Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and the New York subway.

Ralph Nader had a testy meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus Tuesday. Nader rejected their request that he quit the presidential race -- many Democrats fear that progressive votes for Nader could tip the balance in favor of a Bush victory over Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry. NPR's Tavis Smiley talks with the independent candidate in the 2004 elections.

Imperial Hubris, a new book due out next month, argues that the United States is losing the war on terror. It faults senior U.S. officials who have "delayed action, downplayed intelligence, ignored repeated warnings" and behaved as "moral cowards." NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with the book's author, an active senior CIA officer -- and former head of the agency's Osama bin Laden unit -- who asked to remain anonymous.

NPR's Daniel Schorr, senior news analyst, says that the net effect of the selective release of documents relating to prisoner abuse is to maintain "presidential deniability" -- that is, to suggest that however punitive Attorney General John Ashcroft may be, President Bush viewed these issues in humane terms.

President Bush is questioned by federal prosecutors investigating the leak of an undercover CIA operative's identity. The interview took place at the White House and lasted about 70 minutes. The CIA operative's name was made public by columnist Robert Novak last July. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Don Gonyea.

The powerlessness of women is partly behind the spread of AIDS in some parts of India. NPR's Brenda Wilson looks at how centuries-old cultural attitudes have put women at a high risk for HIV.

Veteran reporter Bonnie Anderson isn't happy about the way journalists deliver the news these days. And in her book Newsflash, she explains why she believes the bottom dollar has more pull than the integrity of the story. The no-holds-barred author talks with NPR's Tavis Smiley.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat reinstates Abdel Razek Majaide as chief of the Palestinian security forces. Arafat ousted Majaide a few days ago and replaced him with his cousin, Moussa Arafat, touching off unrest in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians had loudly denounced the move as a sign of cronyism and corruption. Hear NPR's Peter Kenyon.

U.S. warplanes strike a suspected safehouse of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Fallujah. Bombs created a 30-foot crater and killed at least 10 people, including women and children, according to Iraqi witnesses. Meanwhile, three Marines are killed in a guerrilla attack in Anbar province. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

The Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University houses recorded speeches, performances, lectures, interviews, and broadcasts by over 50,000 persons over the last 100 years. NPR's Don Gonyea took a tour of the library and talked to its collector.

The 2004 presidential election has become the year of the "campaign kid" -- it seems the children and grandchildren of every major candidate is on the stump. NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates takes a look at how families in the White House, and those who aspire to get there, are protecting their children from the pressure of press scrutiny.