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Gen. John Abizaid and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz discuss the cost of rebuilding Iraq in a closed-door session with members of Congress. An emergency spending request that could run as high as $100 billion is expected in coming days. NPR's David Welna reports.

President Bush will soon send Congress a request for $87 billion to fund reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some Capitol Hill lawmakers pledge to approve Bush's request quickly, calling it essential for troops on the ground. But others say the request prompts new questions about the direction of the U.S. mission in Iraq. Hear NPR's Andrea Seabrook.

Two years ago, a TV picture-tube plant moved from Scranton, Pa., to Mexico and left nearly 2,000 people without jobs. Many of the town's residents are still struggling to find jobs. In the second of this three-part series, NPR's John Ydstie reports on three former plant employees.

Legendary jazz bandleader Artie Shaw donates two of his clarinets to the Smithsonian Institution, including the instrument he used in 1938 to record his first big hit, "Begin the Beguine." Shaw received the institution's James Smithson Medal for his lifetime achievements in music. Until he retired in 1954, Shaw's fame rivaled that of Benny Goodman. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Robert Siegel.

When George Plimpton and his friends, writers H.L. Humes and Peter Matthiessen, founded The Paris Review in 1953, they were young men whose curiosity exceeded their means. But they were determined to keep the literary journal going, publishing early interviews with E.M. Forster, Ernest Hemingway, Ezra Pound and Italo Calvino. This year, The Paris Review celebrates its 50th anniversary. NPR's Jacki Lyden visits Plimpton at his Manhattan apartment talk about his career and the history of Review. Hear an extended interview.

They came by bus, train and, in at least one case, roller-skates. The people who traveled to the historic March on Washington from around the country 40 years ago this week made the journey despite threats of violence. NPR's Juan Williams reports on the stories of march participants and organizers.

In the first of a four-part series, NPR's Howard Berkes reports on John Wesley Powell's vision for developing the western United States. He recognized how serious a restraint the lack of water was in the region, and laid out a plan for how to best use the limited resource.

A car bomb that tore apart Iraq's holiest Shiite Muslim mosque Friday killed at least 100 people, authorities say. Among them was Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim, a prominent Shiite cleric. Six suspects are being questioned, but their identities and allegiances are unclear. Hear NPR's Scott Simon and NPR's Emily Harris.

Thousands take to the streets of Najaf, Iraq, mourning the death of more than 100 people -- including key Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim -- in the bombing of one of Islam's most revered shrines -- the Imam Ali Mosque. Hear NPR's Emily Harris, NPR's Jacki Lyden and Imam Sayed Moustafa al-Qazwini of the Islamic Educational Center of Orange County, Calif.

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) confirms that he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination. Kerry has campaigned and raised money for more than a year. The official announcement comes as he trails rival New England Democrat Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor, in early polls for the critical New Hampshire primary. NPR's Anthony Brooks reports.