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U.S. Marines besiege the Iraqi town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, where crowds mutilated the bodies of four American civilians killed in a roadside attack last Wednesday. The Marines are preparing a new offensive in Fallujah to root out those responsible for the killings. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Eric Niiler of member station KPBS in San Diego.

The U.S. military concedes disappointment with the performance of some U.S.-trained Iraqi units in the wake of widespread attacks by both Sunni and Shiite Muslim insurgents. Chief U.S. administrator Paul Bremer acknowledges that the Iraqi army and civil defense force will not be in a position to control the country when the U.S. hands over sovereignty to an interim government at the end of June. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.

NPR's Melissa Block talks with two high-ranking retired U.S. generals -- Maj. Gen. Robert Scales and Maj. Gen. William Nash -- about the American strategy in Iraq now that fighting has broken out between U.S.-led forces and both Shiite and Sunni Muslim militias.

U.S. Marines target a mosque complex in the besieged town of Fallujah with rockets and a large bomb, killing at least 25 people and possibly as many as 40. Insurgents were reportedly using the mosque to stage attacks on U.S.-led forces. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and Eric Niiler of member station KPBS, who is with the First Marine Division.

The state of Illinois has expressed its "official regret" for the murder of Mormon leader Joseph Smith in 1844. But some say the violence that drove Mormons out of the state was precipitated in large measure by Smith himself. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

In the latest in a series on the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports from San Francisco. The city's complex racial and ethnic mix makes integrating its schools increasingly difficult. Now many members of one minority group, Chinese Americans, are actively opposing integration efforts, saying they're just another form of discrimination. NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports.

The Alamo, starring Dennis Quaid and Billy Bob Thornton, was supposed to open last December, but problems with cast and producers delayed it for a spring release. Bob Mondello reviews the historical epic, which opens in theaters Friday.

For this month's issue of Texas Monthly, writers Jeff McCord and John Morthland took on an ambitious assignment: coming up with a list of the 100 best Texas songs. The task required the two to make agonizing decisions, between "On the Road Again," "Always on My Mind," "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" — and that's just music from Willie Nelson. McCord and Morthland discuss their choices with NPR's Melissa Block.

President Bush's Democratic challenger, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, says he will make abortion rights a major theme of his campaign. He spoke Friday at a rally for abortion rights in Washington, D.C., and also to the American Society of Newspaper Editors. NPR's David Welna reports.

NPR's David Schaper reports from Ellsworth, Wis., on the return of the U.S. Army's 652nd Engineer Company from duty in Iraq. The relatively small bridge-building unit suffered more casualties than any other Army reserve unit.