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The body of 26-year-old Nicholas Berg was returned to the United States Wednesday. President Bush denounced the killing of Berg, a U.S. civilian whose decapitation by masked men was shown in a video on an al Qaeda-linked web site. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea.

A powerful car bomb wounds a senior Iraqi official outside his Baghdad home, kills at least five people -- including the sucide bomber -- and injures others. The attack comes just a few days after the assassination of the head of Iraq's Governing Council. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

The Russian-backed president of Chechnya and at least five others were killed Sunday in an explosion in the Chechen capital, Grozny. Among the dozens of wounded was Russia's senior military commander in the region. The bomb went off in a stadium where President Ahmed Kadyrov was attending celebrations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany. Hear NPR's Cheryl Corley and Kim Murphy of The Los Angeles Times.

U.N. Envoy Lakhdar Brahimi is considering the make-up of an interim Iraqi government set to take over June 30 from the U.S.-led occupation authority. Analysts and politicians say Brahimi may be forced to compromise to the point that the new government's authority will be restricted, resulting in a largely symbolic transfer of power. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

President Bush welcomes the formation of Iraq's interim government, saying it brings the country closer to democracy. With the leadership named, the United States and Britain hope the U.N. will approve a Security Council resolution that details security arrangements and the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani tells the Sept. 11 commission that it should focus on preventing future terrorist attacks, not on assigning blame. Giuliani praised emergency responders' actions, but some victims' families demanded more pointed questions about what went wrong when police and firefighters responded to the 2001 attacks. Hear NPR's Madeleine Brand.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld arrives in Baghdad -- a visit aimed at lifting troop morale amid the controversy over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard Myers is traveling with Rumseld on the unannounced visit. Hear NPR's Peter Kenyon.

The U.S. military releases more than 300 Iraqi detainees from the Abu Ghraib prison -- the center of a prisoner-abuse scandal. The release comes a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made a surprise visit to Iraq and toured the prison. Hear NPR's Peter Kenyon.

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage discuss the turnover of power in Iraq with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Wolfowitz said it's too early to say how many troops would stay in the country. Lawmakers from both parties also expressed unease over the continuing scandal at Abu Ghraib prison. NPR's David Welna reports.

A pastoral letter issued by a Roman Catholic bishop in Colorado states that parishioners voting for officials supporting abortion rights be denied communion. The bishop also would deny communion for supporters of stem-cell research, gay marriage or euthanasia. NPR's Jeff Brady reports.