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NPR's Jennifer Ludden talks with Amos Oz, Israel's leading author, about his new memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness. His life story shares many parallels with the history of the Jewish state.

President Bush's first term brought some of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. In his second term, he wants to revamp the tax code altogether; some in Congress favor a tax based on what people spend, not on what they earn. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

Musician and writer Miles Hoffman says the great composer, born 234 years ago this week in Bonn, Germany, is still revered for his forceful music — and admired for writing a share of it after losing his hearing.

President Bush has tapped Laura Bush to lead an effort to help boys do better in school and stay away from street gangs and crime -- a response to grim statistics on the difficulties boys face. NPR's Michele Norris speaks with the first lady about the initiative.

After months of intense negotiations, the House votes 336-75 to pass an anticipated intelligence reform bill. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Peter Hoekstra said in final debate on the bill that it may be one of the most difficult and involved bills in Congressional history. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

House Republicans unexpectedly reinstate a tougher ethics rule governing their leaders. The move overturns a rule that was widely seen as intended to protect House Majority Leader Tom DeLay from having to step down if he is indicted in an ongoing campaign financing investigation. Hear NPR's Andrea Seabrook.

The Senate votes 89-2 to approve a sweeping intelligence reform bill, one day after approval in the House. The bill now goes to President Bush for his signature. The difficulty of the task was apparent from the beginning, when the Sept. 11 commission made broad recommendations involving major changes to the status quo. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

A new report from the National Research Council says it is safe to ingest perchlorate -- a chemical linked to decreased thyroid function and found in drinking water in more than 35 states -- at doses 20 times greater than the "reference dose" currently proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency. Hear NPR's Jon Hamilton.

The Environmental Protection Agency has offered the nation's factory farms a four-year immunity from air pollution laws if they agree to participate in the agency's study of the farms' airborne emissions. Activist groups are calling the plan a delaying tactic.

As the nation marks the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., this week, fresh attention is paid to the current state of the civil rights movement, and its leaders. Hear Andrew Hacker, author of the 1992 book Two Nations; Claybourne Carson, director of the Martin Luther King Papers Project at Stanford University; and NPR's Jennifer Ludden.