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The rock band Wilco's latest CD, A Ghost is Born, was recorded during the lead singer's battle with an addiction to painkillers, among other distractions. Many of the Chicago group's songs reflect this tense and hallucinatory period in the singer's life. Critic Tom Moon has a review.

Months of bad news from Iraq have hurt President Bush's standing, with a new NPR poll of likely voters giving him a 50-percent approval rating, down from 53 percent in March. The poll also shows President Bush and his Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry in a statistical dead heat. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

The body of a South Korean hostage beheaded by militants in Iraq is found, a day after the deadline set by his captors for South Korea to cancel a plan to send 3,000 troops to Iraq. The U.S. military says troops found 33-year-old Kim Sun-il's beheaded body Tuesday evening, west of Baghdad. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Emily Harris.

The Bush administration releases scores of documents laying out its policies on interrogating detainees, amid bad publicity over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. The White House says the documents show a policy of treating detainees humanely. But critics note the absence of any memos from the State Department, which analysts say expressed grave concerns about the interpretation of the Geneva Conventions. Hear NPR's Jackie Northam.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports on some of the problems that might emerge when a United States Embassy is established in Iraq after the country regains sovereignty. One problem: how to coordinate with the huge, ongoing U.S. military operation. The U.S. Embassy in Saigon during the war in Vietnam offers some lessons.

A truck bomb kills more than 50 people at a police station south of Baghdad Tuesday, wounding at least 75 others. The blast struck as civilians lined up at the building to apply for jobs. No American deaths have been reported. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and James Hider of The Times of London.

Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' arrival on U.S. shores. There are countless books and TV and radio specials. Paul Ingles reports on one aspect of the original madness — the radio wars that erupted around the Beatles.

CIA director George Tenet defends intelligence his agency compiled on Iraq. Reacting to weeks of public accusations that a major intelligence failure had preceded the war in Iraq, Tenet insists the CIA never twisted its assessments of Iraq's military capabilities to suit political concerns. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports.

A new NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy School poll on sex education shows that while more than 90% of Americans approve of sex ed in schools, they don't all agree on how it should be taught. In the first of a two-part series, NPR's Wade Goodwyn takes us to an abstinence lecture at a Dallas Middle School, and talks with students about their impressions of it.

The panel investigating the attack on the Capitol asked U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Mo Brooks of Alabama and Ronny Jackson of Texas to appear. They all said no.