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NPR's Jim Zarroli visited a town in southwest Wisconsin where downtown merchants have found a way to compete with the local Wal-Mart. Many store owners say they can coexist because they offer an expertise not easily found in the larger retail chains.

New York Times Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd step down in the wake of a scandal involving former reporter Jayson Blair. Raines and Boyd faced intense criticism after Blair was accused of various ethical transgressions during his four years at The Times. Hear Jack Schaffer of Slate magazine.

The U.S. occupation has liberated the baser instincts of some Iraqis. Public drunkenness, taboo under Saddam, is now a growing problem. And blue movies are drawing big crowds of young men. NPR's Nick Spicer reports from Baghdad.

The Senate confirms the first Black woman as justice on the U.S. Supreme Court and also deals additional rebukes to Russia on trade.

Colm Toibin reads from his new collection of poetry, "Vinegar Hill," and answers questions from Scott Simon.

Scott Simon speaks with Hal Brands, a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, about how the U.S. should handle the emerging alliance between China and Russia.

Jurors in Michigan acquitted two men of conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The jury deadlocked over charges of two other defendants.

Ukraine is still reeling from a missile attack at a crowded train station in the eastern part of the country. At least 50 people were killed in the attack and about 100 are injured.

Allied officials say they will soon pick a council of leading Iraqis to work under U.S. and British occupation forces. It's billed as a small first step in turning power over to Iraqis, but it does not constitute the start of a new government -- that will have to wait for a constitutional convention and elections. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with NPR's Deborah Amos in Iraq.

A U.S. delegation returns from North Korea, carrying a message from its leaders. The communist country says it has nuclear weapons and plans to build more. But officials doubt whether North Korea has the technology to back up those claims. One American scientist recounts his rare 1994 visit to the country's nuclear facilities, and the questions he was left with. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.