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For many Americans, retired Sen. Dale Bumpers is best known as the man who gave the impassioned closing speech defending President Bill Clinton before the Senate impeachment vote. That event bookends his autobiography, Best Lawyer in a One Lawyer Town: A Memoir. Hear excerpts from his extended interview with NPR's Linda Wertheimer.

Beijing slowly returns to normal as the reported number of SARS cases decreases. Children prepare to return to school and many people stop wearing facemasks on the street. But some public facilities still require visitors to get their temperatures taken before entering to check for high fevers -- a symptom of the deadly flu-like disease. Hear NPR's Richard Harris.

The World Health Organization extends a travel warning to Taiwan and two more Chinese provinces, as the number of SARS cases rises. In Hong Kong, also under a WHO travel advisory, officials say the rate of SARS infection has slowed. But streets and public facilities remain empty as residents seek to avoid contracting the disease that has infected more than 1,600 in the city. Hear NPR's Joe Palca.

It's hard to imagine a graduation ceremony without Pomp and Circumstance. Music commentator Miles Hoffman stops by Morning Edition to explore the famous processional, which was by Sir Edward Elgar (left), and other marches of the season.

At 21, singer-songwriter Devendra Banhart has drawn an unusual mix of comparisons: Billie Holiday, Beck, Tiny Tim. Critics are calling his debut album — Oh Me Oh My... — a timeless, haunting and irresistible recording. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports.

Before the war in Iraq, the Pentagon assumed that much of the Iraqi army would survive the conflict and would help with postwar reconstruction. U.S. military planners hoped that surviving Iraqi forces would form the basis of a new national army, which would stabilize the country and protect it from outside aggression. But the war did such damage to the Iraqi military that U.S. occupation authorities have little to work with as they try to reconstitute an army. In addition, they have to contend with a demoralized officer corps and ethnic and religious differences in the ranks. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

As Cleveland's mayor in 1978, Rep. Dennis Kucinich saw his city plunge into financial default. The Ohio Democrat tells NPR's Bob Edwards that event, triggered by his refusal to privatize the municipal electric system, shows he's politically courageous enough to be president. Hear an extended interview.

Music critic Michelle Mercer reviews new recordings from two Brazilian artists: Natural by Celso Fonseca, and the self-titled Blue Note debut by the Tribalistas. She says both will put you in the mood for summer.

Christopher Buckley, the author of Washington Schlepped Here: Walking in the Nation's Capital, recently took NPR's Liane Hansen on a walking tour of his adopted home -- a city full of intrigue, history and hidden surprises. Listen to Buckley describe the truth and legend behind "the curse of Lafayette Square," and see photos of the tour.

Public concern is growing that the justifications for a war in Iraq were exaggerated, as those searching for weapons of mass destruction have turned up empty-handed. Commentator Andrea Carlisle ponders the fate of lost weapons of mass destruction.