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NPR's Michele Norris talks with KPBS reporter Eric Niiler who is embedded with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force outside the Iraqi city of Fallujah where four civilian security contractors and five soldiers were killed in separate attacks earlier this week. The city is a flashpoint of anti-American violence.

Surrounded by a mountain forest, a Buddhist monastery floats on a lake in the new movie Spring Summer Fall Winter... and Spring. Bob Mondello says that within the monastery's walls, director Kim Ki-Duk finds all of life's angers, sorrows and joys.

With New York's Times Square set to mark its 100th anniversary this month, writer James Traub releases The Devil’s Playground, the story of how this mercurial district became one of the most famous and exciting places in the world. Hear NPR's Howard Berkes and Traub.

Young female chimps learn how to use sticks to fish for termites faster than their male peers, according to a report in the journal Nature. Researcher Elizabeth Lonsdorf studied a test group of wild chimpanzees from the Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Similar sex-based differences have been seen in human children learning new skills. Hear NPR's Christopher Joyce and Lonsdorf.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry criticizes the stay-the-course strategy President George Bush reiterated in his White House news conference Tuesday night. Kerry, the presumed Democratic nominee for president, said at a news conference in New York that the president has been too inflexible in his plans and has alienated U.S. allies. NPR's David Welna reports.

A week ago, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected to a second term in a country emerging from more than a decade of civil strife. Many Algerians wonder how he intends to bridge the gap between the nation's Islamists, secular civil society and restless ethnic Berber minority. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports.

President George Bush's re-election campaign begins running hard-edged ads against likely Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry, with the election eight months away. Analysts are divided on the effectiveness of negative campaign ads, saying they lower voter turnout. NPR's Don Gonyea reports. Hear NPR's Elizabeth Blair.

In the second of three stories on the mood of the country, NPR's John Ydstie visits a farm cooperative in Lincoln County, just outside St. Louis. The biggest issue is growth and development, as farm land turning into housing divisions and suburbs. On the national and international front, the war in Iraq is most important - and views are mixed. The economic outlook has brighten a lot in this region with corn and soybean prices up so overall, there's a pretty optimistic outlook.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vows to maintain his country's participation in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, despite the execution of an Italian hostage by Iraqi militants. The militants are threatening to kill three other Italian hostages seized this week if Italian troops aren't withdrawn. Hear NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

NPR's Howard Berkes and New York Times Magazine ethicist Randy Cohen discuss the dilemma of William Gooch of South Holland, Illinois. He got lucky enough to win a lottery to purchase hard-to-get baseball tickets. He wonders whether it's right to sell a ticket to his friend for more than face value.