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Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews some silent musical scores by the Alloy Orchestra. They write and perform new music for silent films. Schwartz looks at their scores for the Buster Keaton films, The General and Steamboat Bill, Jr. (on DVD, Image Entertainment).

John McCormack was one of the greatest, most versatile singers of the last century. Not only did the Irish tenor sing famous folk songs like "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," he also was a much-admired opera singer. Commentator Miles Hoffman and NPR's Bob Edwards offer a special St. Patrick's Day retrospective of McCormack's career. Hear samples of Irish folk songs performed by McCormack.

Sen. John McCain reflects on the current situation in Iraq. McCain argues that the current situation in Iraq is, for most Americans, their first experience of the brutality of war. Despite the deaths of U.S. servicemen, though, it's vital that the U.S. stays the course In Iraq and makes their sacrifice worthwhile. McCain's new book is called Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life.

NPR's Matt Hackworth reports on an archaeologist in Chicago using volunteers and a Web site to help recover artifacts missing from Iraq's National Museum.

The Bush administration used money intended for Afghanistan to prepare for war in Iraq, according to Plan of Attack, a new book from Bob Woodward of The Washington Post. The book also alleges that Saudi Arabia offered to stabilize gas prices during President Bush's election year. NPR's Don Gonyea reports. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and former presidential adviser David Gergen.

The CIA and other intelligence agencies were too slow to recognize and describe the threat posed by al Qaeda, and failed to warn other government agencies properly, according to findings by the Sept. 11 commission. But CIA Director George Tenet and FBI Director Robert Mueller warn some of the panel's proposed reforms might make things worse. Hear NPR's Larry Abramson.

Health officials are concerned about the new popularity of using ultrasound technology for prenatal portraits. The Food and Drug Administration warns that this non-medical use is both inappropriate and potentially harmful to fetal development. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.

He is the author of the memoir, Blue Blood that begins with his first days on the street as a cop in the New York Police Department and goes back three generations. His great-grandfather was an "officer of dubious integrity" during the Tammany-era NYPD. Conlon also wrote the "Cop Diary" columns in The New Yorker and is a graduate of Harvard. One reviewer writes, "No one has written a book that grabs readers by the scruff of the neck and tells them what the life of a cop is really like as well as Edward Conlon."

The Bush administration reiterates its intentions to follow the planned Iraq policy and public hearings on Sept. 11 focus on law enforcement and government structure. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and David Brooks of The New York Times.

National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice tells the commission investigating the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that the Bush administration had no specific warning of those attacks. But several commissioners probed for more detail on a confidential briefing memo from Aug. 6, 2001 -- and called for it to be made public. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.