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American military forces stage a major raid on a downtown Baghdad villa, killing several Iraqis. U.S. officials make no immediate comment on the target of the raid, but neighbors suspect the troops were looking for Saddam Hussein. The raid caps the deadliest weekend yet for U.S. troops since major hostilities ended. NPR's Eric Westervelt talks to NPR's Jacki Lyden.

On the whole, Kansas has never really been thought of as a driving challenge. A glance at a state road map reveals a grid-like layout with relatively few twists and turns. Doctoral student Brandon Vogt knew that from personal experience. He frequently drove the width of the state, making the trip from Boulder, Colo., to Colombia, Mo. And he began to wonder just how flat Kansas really was. Vogt's research now confirms his suspicions: Kansas really is flatter than a pancake. Robert Siegel talks with Vogt about his findings, which are published in the Annals of Improbable Research.

In the southern Iraqi city of Kerbala, U.S. soldiers are still welcomed by the locals, a rare example of things going right in America's troubled occupation of Iraq. But even in Karbala, anti-American discontent is growing, as are attacks against U.S. forces there. NPR's Kate Seelye reports.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Fever to Tell, the debut album by the rock trio Yeah Yeah Yeahs, led by singer Karen O.

U.S. officials say several Iraqis suspected of being bodyguards of Saddam Hussein are in U.S. custody. Maj. Gen. Ray Odierno says U.S. forces "continue to tighten the noose" around the former Iraqi dictator. Earlier this week, Saddam's two eldest sons were killed in a gunfight with U.S. troops. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.

U.S. forces in Tikrit capture three Saddam loyalists, including a bodyguard of the deposed Iraqi leader. And in their continuing search for weapons of mass destruction, U.S. troops find anti-tank mines, mortar rounds and hundreds of pounds of gunpowder buried in Tikrit. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson and Joseph Cirincione of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead reviews New Beginnings (MaxJazz) the new CD by trumpeter Terell Stafford.

Two U.S. soldiers are killed when their convoy comes under attack in northern Iraq. Recent attacks on American soldiers have prompted the U.S. Army to adopt an informal system of reward and punishment. Soldiers hand out food and water in neighborhoods free of attacks, while they set up roadblocks and conduct searches in areas where violence persists. Hear NPR's Eric Westervelt.

In Key West, music seems to be everywhere: wafting out of bars, blasting from car speakers, drifting in from passing boats. But some of the best music comes from street performers. NPR's Phillip Davis sends a postcard about one muscian who's carved out a tranquil niche in Mallory Square.

The past 10 years have brought a surge of young women into the nation's juvenile justice system. In Part 2 of the series Girls and the Juvenile Justice System, NPR's Michele Norris visits a Boston detention center, originally designed to house delinquent boys, now struggling to cope with a new population of girls.