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A massive sandstorm envelops the Iraqi capital, bringing life to a virtual standstill. It was like waking up on Christmas Day to find the landscape had turned white with snow -- except that it was orange. The huge cloud of dust was blown in from the western Syrian desert.

With a week left before the new Iraqi constitution is to be presented to the National Assembly, many hurdles remain. And in the wake of heavy U.S. casualties last week, the United States is pushing hard for Iraqi politicians to finish their work. Host Liane Hansen speaks with NPR's Philip Reeves in Baghdad.

A new book of children's poems and illustrations features the fun of mixed-up words from Shel Silverstein. And a new CD collects some of the late author's songs, including "A Boy Named Sue," performed by Johnny Cash.

Iraqi authorities are investigating an apparent attempt to burn down the headquarters of the Iraqi Transitional Government, situated in the heavily guarded Green Zone. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Jaafari announced a new national security plan.

Joan DeJean, author of The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafes, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour!, aims to prove that almost everything we think of as glamorous can be traced back to the 1600s and the tastes of French monarch Louis XIV.

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) is one of the Republican Party's strongest and most conservative voices. He talks about his new book, It Takes a Family, where he discusses the politics of intelligent design, and what he'd like to hear from Supreme Court nominee John Roberts.

Near Basra in southern Iraq, police find the body of an American freelance journalist -- Steven Vincent -- who was abducted Tuesday night and shot dead. Vincent had been living in Basra for three months while working on a book.

A battalion of Marines based in Ohio is mourning the loss of 14 comrades, who died in a roadside bomb attack Wednesday in Iraq's Anbar province. It's the battalion's second loss in three days: six other marines died Monday in the same area.

U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad outlines the process for a gradual withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Meanwhile, the military announced the deaths of seven Marines killed Monday.

Cultural historian Christopher Frayling's new book Once Upon A Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone is a large-format, beautifully illustrated book that chronicles the history of the spaghetti western through researched text and interviews with Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Eli Wallach.