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Her book Eats, Shoots & Leaves, a best seller in Britain, is a narrative history of punctuation. Truss claims that with the advent of e-mail and text messaging, proper punctuation is an endangered species. Truss is also the author of three novels and numerous radio comedy dramas. She has been a television critic and sports columnist for The Times (London). She also won Columnist of the Year award for her work for Women's Journal. She now reviews books for the Sunday Times of London.

An unusual anti-communist ordinance passed by the city council of Garden Grove -- a California town with a large Vietnamese-American population -- draws criticism from Vietnam's Foreign Ministry spokesman. Many residents of Garden Grove and nearby Westminster fled Vietnam when communist forces took over the nation in 1975. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from Hanoi.

Thomas Hamill, the civilian who escaped his captors near Tikrit after three months as a hostage, led soldiers to the house where he had been held; two men there were taken into custody. Hamill's wife, Kellie, said after learning of her 43-year-old husband's freedom, she felt "wonderful." Hear NPR's Craig Windham.

Confusion continues to grow over Medicare's discount-drug program, which had its official start Monday. The new plan provides seniors with a choice of discount drug cards, but reports arose late last week that many of the discounts listed on the government's Web site were not accurate. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld denies that he kept Congress and the American public in the dark about the abuse of Iraqi inmates under U.S. control at Abu Ghraib prison. Rumsfeld vowed to take all steps necessary to bring those who committed the abuses to justice, and a review into the prison's chain of command is under way. Hear NPR's Michele Norris, NPR's Michele Kelemen and NPR's Jackie Northam.

- As part of our series of commentaries on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by American troops, psychotherapist Jeffrey Harper says that the desire to act towards enemies with cruelty -- and take pleasure from it -- is human nature.

Army Spc. Jeremy Sivits pleads guilty to three counts of abuse in the first court-martial to result from the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners held at Abu Ghraib prison. Sivits received the maximum sentence -- one year in prison, a reduction in rank and a bad conduct discharge. His testimony is likely to be used against other military personnel facing courts-martial on abuse charges. Hear NPR's Peter Kenyon.

Markets jumped after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank was not contemplating bigger rate hikes than the half-a-percentage-point increase it delivered on Wednesday.

The State Department issues its annual report on global human rights, spelling out what the United States is doing to advance rights in 101 countries determined to have the worst records. The document's release was delayed for two weeks, amid international outrage over the pictures of prisoner abuse by U.S. personnel in Iraq. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

The new World War II Memorial was formally dedicated this past weekend, welcoming thousands of veterans to the National Mall. It honors those who served in the Second World War, as well as the workers and families who supported the war at home. But the memorial also has a little-known neighbor: the World War I Memorial. NPR's Noah Adams reports.