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The mood has changed in Sadr City, the sprawling slum on the outskirts of Baghdad that was at the center of last spring's rebellion by militiamen loyal to a radical Shiite Muslim cleric. The situation is much calmer now, but anti-American sentiment still runs high. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

A car driven by a suicide bomber explodes outside a U.S. base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing three Iraqis. In Baghdad, gunmen kill a senior member of Iraq's interior ministry. Several kidnappings of foreign workers are also reported. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

At an inner city Bronx school, a young teacher from Finland formed a gospel choir to encourage her disadvantaged students to believe in their potential. Three years after their last performance, students and teacher reunite, as a new book tells their story.

NPR's Philip Reeves reports from Baghdad on the situation in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf, which has calmed down considerably in the wake of several weeks of fighting between U.S. forces and militias loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The cleric is keeping a low profile, and most Najaf residents are much more concerned about the economy and the notoriously insecure highway that links their city to the Iraqi capital.

NPR's Philip Reeves reports on one of the Iraqi capital's used car dealers. He's a former police colonel, who roams his showroom with a rifle in hand. You can test-drive a Mercedes there, but only if you put down the entire cost of the car beforehand.

In his new book, Why Lincoln Matters: Today More Than Ever, former New York governor Mario Cuomo examines the writings and speeches of one of America's most beloved presidents, Abraham Lincoln, on issues relevant to today's world, including pre-emptive war, taxes and religion in politics. Cuomo speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Though Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently said the situation in Iraq is calming down, insurgents continue to attack government officials, the country's infrastructure and its new security forces in particular. Some 890 U.S. troops have died in Iraq since March 2003. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

A bomb explodes outside a police station in southwestern Baghdad, killing at least nine people and wounding dozens more. The bombing comes as Iraq's new interim government tries to work out differences with opposition groups and stem insurgent attacks. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi allows the Shiite weekly Al-Hawza to resume publication, reversing a decision by recently departed U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer. In Fallujah, attacks by U.S. forces left at least 11 dead. Hear NPR's Brian Naylor and NPR's Philip Reeves.

Writer A. Van Jordan's latest poems imagine the life of MacNolia Cox, the first black finalist in the National Spelling Bee. In his book M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A, Jordan uses a variety of forms and voices to depict Cox's life in 1936. Hear NPR's Susan Stamberg and Jordan.