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Fires burn in Baghdad as the U.S.-led bombardment of the city and nearby Republican Guard positions reportedly steps up in frequency. Inside the city, the infrastructure begins to degrade as telephones fail and supply shortages threaten. Yet, reporters in the city say Saddam's regime seems in complete control. Hear Paul Eedle.

U.S. and British warplanes continue to strike government buildings inside Baghdad and key defenses on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital. Despite the almost constant bombardment, reporters inside the city say life there seems remarkably close to normal. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

NPR's Michele Norris gets an update from NPR's John Burnett, traveling with the Marine 1st Division in Iraq. After a three-day break, the Marines have renewed their push toward Baghdad.

Iraqi television broadcasts an alleged statement from Saddam Hussein, urging Baghdad's residents to fight U.S. forces with their hands if necessary. Hoping to avoid drawn-out urban warfare, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld appeals to Iraqi soldiers to surrender, saying they "can still survive and help to rebuild a free Iraq." NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Speaking to Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, President Bush says "a vise is closing" on Saddam Hussein's regime and that the United States "will not stop until Iraq is free." Bush also offers condolences to families of U.S. Marines killed in the war with Iraq. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards, NPR's Christopher Joyce and NPR's Don Gonyea.

NPR's Jack Speer visits the headquarters of a small company outside Washington, D.C., to see how employees at one firm are managing to follow news about the war and get their work done. Pal-Tech has a diverse workforce, and company management encourages employees to speak freely as a way of easing tensions in the office. Employees say they appreciate the openness but want to know more about what the company is doing to protect them if there is another terrorist event in Washington.

NPR's Joanne Silberner looks at the chronology of events in the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. It was only three weeks ago that the World Health Organization captured the world's attention by stating the illness posed a world-wide health threat. It said there had been hundreds of SARS cases in Guangdong province, and that the disease had spread to Hong Kong. Then other countries reported cases, mainly among travelers to China and their contacts. There were fears that the relatively rapid spread in China and Hong Kong might signal an epidemic, similar to the flu epidemic of 1918, which killed millions. The situation today looks less frightful, but scientists are still concerned.

The U.S. military investigates reports that an American warplane bombed a convoy of Kurdish fighters and U.S. Special Forces soldiers in northern Iraq, killing several people. A BBC reporter traveling with the convoy says he counted at least 10 bodies lying near the burning vehicles. NPR's Liane Hansen talks to NPR's Ivan Watson.

American journalist Michael Kelly dies in a reported Humvee accident near Baghdad. Kelly, an editor-at-large with The Atlantic Monthly and columnist for The Washington Post, was embedded with the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division. Kelly is the first American reporter to die in the war. NPR's Robert Smith reports.

NPR's Michele Norris talks with Craig Smith, reporter for the New York Times, in Umm Qasr in southern Iraq. Smith spoke with a Shiite cleric who told him that Ba'ath Party officials in Basra are seeking a way to surrender. The cleric says that the party officials have no support among Iraqi people there and are worried about mob violence against them if they step down.