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China's booming economic growth has sparked a tremendous need for raw materials like cooper, steel and scrap metal. China must import this material, and prices have shot up. U.S. companies are having financial difficulties competing with China in the scrap-metal market. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Two American soldiers are killed in an explosion while raiding a Baghdad building suspected of producing chemical munitions. It's unclear whether the blast, which destroyed four U.S. Humvees and a large part of a building, was a deliberately detonated bomb or the result of an accident. Meanwhile, one U.S. soldier is killed in fierce fighting in Fallujah. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

Investment banker Frank Quattrone, who rose to fame during the dot-com stock bubble, is convicted of obstructing justice in a federal investigation. After deliberating for more than seven hours, a federal jury found Quattrone guilty in a case that hinged on an email in which Quattrone encouraged colleagues to destroy files. An appeal is expected. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and NPR's Jim Zarroli.

U.S. military officials extend the cease-fire in the Iraqi city of Fallujah for at least two more days. U.S. officials agree to send troops on joint patrols with Iraqi police and civil defense officers in Fallujah instead of launching an assault on the city. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators meet for a rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in a show of support for abortion rights. The event, dubbed the March for Women's Lives, caps a weekend of rallies in the capital. Other issues raised included universal access to health care and same-sex marriage. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

The federal rental aid program expects to distribute the rest of its money by mid-summer. Some cities have already run out of funding, pushing eviction filings higher than before the pandemic.

Residents of Basra are cleaning up and treating the wounded following the bloodiest day in the southern Iraqi city since the start of the war a year ago. Five suicide bombings left more than 70 people dead and at least 200 wounded. There's no word who carried out these attacks, but U.S officials suspect al Qaeda. Hear NPR's Emily Harris.

Nighttime battles are waged between U.S. forces and militiamen loyal to a radical Shiite cleric outside the holy city of Najaf. U.S. forces used tanks and warplanes in the battle, which left more than 60 militiamen dead, according to a military spokesman. Later, U.S. forces attacked parts of Fallujah from the air. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and NPR's Anne Garrels.

President Bush has reportedly privately scolded Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for failing to tell him about pictures depicting the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners. The White House has asked Congress for $25 billion in reserve funds to continue military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the rest of the year. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets with President Bush Friday. British officials say Blair hopes to flesh out a role for the United Nations in Iraq's transition. Blair has faced criticism at home for having little influence when it comes to Iraq -- despite Britain's 10,000 troops there. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.