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Many American officials and foreign policy experts say the United States has no choice but to stay in Iraq until a stable government is in place. They say pulling out too soon could cause a civil war, create a breeding ground for terrorists and damage American credibility. Now some experts across the political spectrum are challenging that view. NPR's Mike Shuster reports.

U.S. forces move closer to one of Shiite Islam's most sacred sites, the Imam Ali shrine in the city of Najaf. Militiamen loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr engage in fierce firefights in the vast cemetery surrounding the shrine with U.S. troops backed by tanks. There are reports the shrine may be damaged by the fighting. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports from Baghdad.

At a Maryland middle school, 25 children hone their comedy skills for a spring show. The comedy club might provide a blueprint for similar programs at other schools. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports.

The film Saved! is a high school comedy along the lines of Pretty in Pink and Clueless. But according to NPR's Bob Mondello, Saved! marches to the beat of a slightly different drummer, because it's set in a Christian high school.

After five decades of pop hits, Neil Sedaka is preparing for a Carnegie Hall concert of Yiddish music. NPR's Scott Simon talks with the entertainer about his lengthy career and return to his musical Jewish roots.

As part of a series of commentaries on the abuse at Abu Ghraib prison, Deborah Johnson, a former television producer, says she is angered by the scandal and will protest the U.S. policies she believes led up to it.

This year has been marked by a series of confrontations around the Eucharist in Catholic churches. In January, the archbishop of St. Louis announced he would deny communion to John Kerry, because of Kerry's support of abortion rights. Earlier this month, a bishop in Colorado said that any Catholic politician who supports abortion rights, stem cell research, euthanasia or same-sex marriage is not eligible to receive communion. And in several U.S. cities this coming Sunday, a group of gay Roman Catholics are planning to stage a protest during Mass. The protesters intend to wear rainbow sashes, opening declaring their sexual orientation. In Chicago, Cardinal Francis George has told priests to deny communion to anyone wearing one of the sashes. Commentator James Martin, a Jesuit priest, says that even the threat of denying communion goes against the meaning of the ritual.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pays a one-day visit to Baghdad, visiting the Abu Ghraib prison complex where abuses of Iraqi prisoners in U.S. custody took place. While in the Iraqi capital, Rumsfeld also addressed troops at the heavily guarded American headquarters. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

The Brood X cicadas have emerged, and residents in 15 states and Washington, D.C., are waking up in the morning to the roar of millions of insects looking for love. NPR's Melissa Block talks with experts Nathan Erwin Scott Harvey about the noisy creatures.

The Iraqi prison abuse crisis is not going away -- much is known about the scandal, but there are lingering questions over whether the abuse was perpetrated by renegade soldiers or authorized by the chain of command. NPR's Mike Shuster looks at the scandal, the contradictions and unanswered questions.