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Two American soldiers are killed in an explosion while raiding a Baghdad building suspected of producing chemical munitions. It's unclear whether the blast, which destroyed four U.S. Humvees and a large part of a building, was a deliberately detonated bomb or the result of an accident. Meanwhile, one U.S. soldier is killed in fierce fighting in Fallujah. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

Venezuelan singer Irene Farrera plays the quatro, a four-string guitar. She demonstrates maracas, a kind of round, and serenades, which she notes is a major part of Venezuelan culture.

Investment banker Frank Quattrone, who rose to fame during the dot-com stock bubble, is convicted of obstructing justice in a federal investigation. After deliberating for more than seven hours, a federal jury found Quattrone guilty in a case that hinged on an email in which Quattrone encouraged colleagues to destroy files. An appeal is expected. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and NPR's Jim Zarroli.

China's booming economic growth has sparked a tremendous need for raw materials like cooper, steel and scrap metal. China must import this material, and prices have shot up. U.S. companies are having financial difficulties competing with China in the scrap-metal market. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

U.S. military officials extend the cease-fire in the Iraqi city of Fallujah for at least two more days. U.S. officials agree to send troops on joint patrols with Iraqi police and civil defense officers in Fallujah instead of launching an assault on the city. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

The Georgia Supreme Court overturns a high school student's conviction for aggravated child molestation. Student Marcus Dixon, who is black, was serving 10 years in prison for having sex with a 15-year-old white girl. The court ruled that Dixon should have been prosecuted on a lesser charge. NPR's Kathy Lohr reports.

The Senate Armed Services Committee receives a closed-door briefing from Army officials on the alleged abuse of Iraqis detained by U.S. military police. Lawmakers want to know if the problem is more widespread than has been reported. Critics say Pentagon leaders aren't doing enough to address the allegations. Hear NPR's David Welna.

In 1975, Pulitzer-Prize winning author Alice Walker wrote an essay that helped lift from obscurity Zora Neale Hurston, the most widely published black woman author of the 1930s Harlem Renaissance. For Intersections, a series on artists and their inspirations, Walker tells NPR's Vertamae Grosvenor about the guiding role Hurston's work has played in her own art.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators meet for a rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in a show of support for abortion rights. The event, dubbed the March for Women's Lives, caps a weekend of rallies in the capital. Other issues raised included universal access to health care and same-sex marriage. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

Jason Lai conducts the BBC Philharmonic in a performance of Boléro by Maurice Ravel. Could the work have been a manifestation of Ravel's growing dementia?