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News

Monday

World

Fatal Blast at Pakistan Mosque

An explosion during evening prayers at a Shiite mosque in Pakistan kills at least 15 people in Karachi. Many suspect the blast may have been in retaliation for the killing of a senior Sunni cleric Sunday. NPR's Melissa Block talks with Shoaib Hasan of the Pakistani English-language monthly the Herald.

Fatal Blast at Pakistan Mosque

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National

Bush, Kerry Mark Memorial Day

Both President George Bush and Sen. John Kerry take part in Memorial Day services to honor America's war dead. The president laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery, while Kerry visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

Bush, Kerry Mark Memorial Day

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World

Baghdad Car-Bomb Kills Four

A car bomb explodes near the U.S.-led coalition headquarters in Baghdad, killing four and leaving at least 25 wounded. Officials called the attack an attempt to complicate efforts to hand over power to an Iraqi interim government, slated to take place within a month. The cabinet will take over at the beginning of July, after the U.S. occupation authority is formally disbanded. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Peter Kenyon.

Baghdad Car-Bomb Kills Four

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World

Iraq Battles Threaten Truce

Two U.S. soldiers and several dozen Iraqi militiamen are dead after overnight gun battles in the Iraqi city of Kufa. The continuing fighting in Kufa and in the nearby city of Najaf threaten last week's truce between the U.S. military and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

Iraq Battles Threaten Truce

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World

Saudis Hunt Khobar Gunmen

Saudi Arabian authorities are searching for three men accused of staging an attack on a compound that houses major Western oil firms. The Saudis say the men are suspected to have links to al Qaeda. Twenty-two people died during the two-day siege in Khobar, which ended when Saudi security forces stormed the building and freed several dozen hostages. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Rashid Hussein, Saudi correspondent for the Pakistani newspaper, The Dawn.

Saudis Hunt Khobar Gunmen

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World

Iraq Family Seeks Compensation for Son's Death

A Baghdad family whose 12-year-old son was killed by U.S. soldiers last summer is trying to find a legal avenue to file for compensation. The U.S. Army says the family has been paid $3,500.00. The family denies that. No independent court is available to hear the dispute. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

Iraq Family Seeks Compensation for Son's Death

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National

Alabama GOP Primary

Some of Alabama's candidates in Tuesday's Republican primary are using an unlikely figure to gain support -- former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. Moore was removed from his post after defying a federal order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from Alabama's state judicial building. Melanie Peeples reports.

Alabama GOP Primary

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Sunday

World

Saudi Arabia: 22 Die in Attack

Saudi officials say militants suspected to have links to al Qaeda killed 22 people before government commandos flushed them out of an upscale housing complex in an early-morning raid. The raid, launched from helicopters, ended a standoff stemming from Saturday's attacks on foreigners working in Khobar oil offices. Hear NPR's Linda Wertheimer and Global Radio News reporter Nigel Perry.

Saudi Arabia: 22 Die in Attack

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Science

Reading Genes for Disease, Part 4: Dilemmas

Tests that can reveal a person's risk of a disease are an advance of modern medicine, but they are also perceived as a double-edged sword. The ability to diagnose the disease or to predict its arrival has outstripped the ability to treat it. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Joe Palca.

Reading Genes for Disease, Part 4: Dilemmas

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World

Hostages Freed in Saudi Raid

A day-long hostage standoff in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, ends as government commandos storm a resort building, freeing dozens of hostages and leaving several dead, including an American. Gunmen had taken between 45 and 60 hostages during attacks in the heart of the kingdom's oil region Saturday. An al Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and Thomas Lippman of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

Hostages Freed in Saudi Raid

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Friday

World

Iraq Names PM; U.S. Hedges

Members of Iraq's Coalition Provisional Authority on Friday unanimously choose Iyad Allawi to be the prime minister of the interim government that will take office on July 1, 2004. U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi welcomes the move, but a U.S. spokesman indicates the selection is not yet final. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Baghdad.

Iraq Names PM; U.S. Hedges

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World

Caribbean Death Toll Climbs

As many as 2,000 people are feared dead in the wake of flooding and mudslides that devastated the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, divided between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Rescue workers are rushing food, water and medical supplies to flood victims. Hundreds of people are missing in the two countries. Hear NPR's Gerry Hadden.

Caribbean Death Toll Climbs

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National

Kerry's Attacks on Bush Muted

In the first of several speeches attacking President Bush's national security policies, Sen. John Kerry accused the president of failing to create an adequate multinational coalition to support efforts in Iraq. But Kerry's criticisms seemed constrained to many, a fact that analysts attribute to Kerry's effort to win swing voters by avoiding a hard-line stance. Hear NPR's David Welna.

Kerry's Attacks on Bush Muted

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Culture

HBO Film Tells of Interracial Duo Behind Medical First

The new HBO film Something the Lord Made tells the story of the interracial medical collaboration behind the first successful open-heart surgery in 1944. At a time of strict racial conventions, Dr. Alfred Blalock, a wealthy, white Southern surgeon, formed a remarkable partnership with his black assistant, Vivien Thomas. NPR's Renee Montagne speaks with Joseph Sargent, the film's director.

HBO Film Tells of Interracial Duo Behind Medical First

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World

U.S. Forces, Sadr's Men Clash

U.S. troops engage in fighting with Shiite militants loyal to rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in Kufa, near the southern Iraqi city of Najaf. The clashes come one day after Sadr agreed to pull his militia out of Najaf, provided U.S. forces withdrew to their bases outside the city. U.S. military officials say the truce remains in place. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Peter Kenyon.

U.S. Forces, Sadr's Men Clash

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