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Attorney General John Ashcroft says the United States is in danger of being "hit hard" by the al Qaeda terrorist organization, noting intelligence suggesting a looming attack. Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller drew new attention to photos of seven suspected al Qaeda operatives at a news conference prompted by what Ashcroft called "a clear and present danger." NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

A day-long hostage standoff in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, ends as government commandos storm a resort building, freeing dozens of hostages and leaving several dead, including an American. Gunmen had taken between 45 and 60 hostages during attacks in the heart of the kingdom's oil region Saturday. An al Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and Thomas Lippman of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

Members of Iraq's Coalition Provisional Authority on Friday unanimously choose Iyad Allawi to be the prime minister of the interim government that will take office on July 1, 2004. U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi welcomes the move, but a U.S. spokesman indicates the selection is not yet final. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Baghdad.

The Bush administration defends its credibility, after the Sept. 11 commission finds "no credible evidence" that Iraq helped al Qaeda in the 2001 attacks on the United States. In recent TV appearances, Vice President Cheney has suggested he may have information supporting an al Qaeda-Iraq link not available to the panel. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne and NPR's Juan Williams.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee lined up Thursday to block a Democratic attempt to subpoena Bush administration legal memos on the use of torture on prisoners. The same day, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged ordering that an Iraqi prisoner be held in secret for more than seven months, violating the Geneva Conventions. Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his nation's intelligence services gave the Bush administration information after the September 11 terror attacks that suggested Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was planning to strike against the United States. Nonetheless, Russia remained adamantly opposed to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. NPR's Lawrence Sheets reports from Moscow.

Andy Slavitt, former senior adviser to President Biden on COVID-19, shares what he thinks the endemic phase of COVID-19 will look like in the U.S. and how we can prepare for that stage now.

NPR's Deborah Amos reports from Baghdad that Iraqis have already taken over much of the business of running the country, even though the official handover of power is set for June 30.

If the U.S. scraps the constitutional right to abortion, human rights advocates warn that repressive governments across the globe could use it to justify crackdowns on their citizens.

With the Supreme Court seemingly poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, Democrats look to legislation to keep abortion legal.