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After months of struggle to repair its campus following Hurricane Katrina, Tulane University welcomed students back Thursday. Workers continue to repair an estimated $200 million in damage, and the school has cut more than two dozen Ph.D. programs.

Laura Tobler, health policy analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures, discusses legislation passed in Maryland that requires large employers to increase spending on worker health insurance and mainly affects Wal-Mart stores.

President Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel hold their first face-to-face meeting at the White House. They find areas of agreement on restraining Iran's nuclear program but disagree on the U.S. prison camp for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.

FEMA is having trouble holding on to its best people. Several FEMA staffers have told NPR that people are leaving because the agency is in trouble and no one appears to be addressing the problems.

Ben Bernanke is on Capitol Hill delivering his first economic report to Congress since becoming chairman of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke told lawmakers that "economic expansion remains on track" and left open the possibility that interest rates would go up. Renee Montagne talks to David Wessel, The Wall Street Journal's deputy Washington bureau chief.

The White House has faced questions and criticism in its handling of the hunting accident involving Vice President Dick Cheney. The victim in the mishap, lawyer Harry Whittington, suffered a minor heart attack Tuesday. Cheney's office subsequently issued its first statement on the matter.

Attorneys Douglas Cox and Sarah Haven travel to Yemen, where the families of their clients tell their side of the story -- adding texture and details to a still-partial picture of where the detainees came from, and why they are held as "enemy combatants." One detainee's mother says her tears "are like heavy rain" ever since her son's capture.

President Bush toured the Gulf Coast Thursday, noting improvements since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In New Orleans, the president did not tour any of the city's still-deserted neighborhoods, and protesters called for a stronger federal commitment to fortify the city's levees.

Sami Abdelshafi, co-founder and senior partner of Emerge Consulting Group, is cautiously optimistic about the new Gaza border-crossing agreement between the Palestinian people and Israel. Abdelshafi's company provides economic analysis to businesses, government groups and non-profits operating in Gaza.

The Iraqi government announces an investigation into the abuse and torture of more than 170 prisoners held at a Ministry of Interior detention center in Baghdad. Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said one of his top deputies has been appointed to conduct the probe.