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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attends a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers, called to discuss the alliance's involvement in Afghanistan. But Rice's trip has been dominated by criticism of America's global counter-terrorism operations.

Lebanon is holding parliamentary elections against the backdrop of a severe economic crisis. Here's a look at what's at stake for those in power and the candidates trying to replace them.

Music critic Christian Bordal reviews the two-CD collection Hypnotize, the latest from the Armenian-American, Los Angeles-based rock group System of a Down. The band's follow-up album to their best-selling surprise hit Mezmerize finds the band once again pounding out a genre-bending blend of rock, reggae, punk, metal and rap.

Hurricane Rita is losing power as it makes its way through eastern Texas. The Texas towns of Galveston, Lumberton and Port Arthur and Lake Charles, La., absorbed the brunt of the storm so far. Rita reached land early Saturday as a Category 3 hurricane.

Scott Peterson, Middle East correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor, describes what it's like to be on patrol with U.S. Marines in the Fallujah area. Last month, he was embedded with the Marine company that controls most of northeast Fallujah.

The trial of former Enron executives Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay enters a critical phase Thursday, when Skilling is expected to testify. Accused of conspiring to deceive investors, analysts and the public about Enron's financial condition, Skilling faces decades in prison if convicted.

House Republicans' choice to take over Tom DeLay's duties, Roy Blunt, is known by politicians from both parties for his "velvet" approach. But he has been dogged by his own ethics questions. Host Melissa Block talks to Deirdre Shesgreen, Washington correspondent for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Louisiana is not the only state where levees are overdue for repairs. Kansas City, St. Louis and other major cities are now worried that New Orleans will siphon the Army Corps of Engineers' resources.

A commission on American prisons offers a report to the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday. Among the group's findings: Violence is an enormous problem, and health care is a disaster. The panel recommends an end to institutional secrecy that has permitted prisons to evade oversight for decades.

The opposition leader in Belarus is calling on supporters to stand their ground. The backers of Alexander Milinkevich are camped out in freezing weather to protest results of an election largely seen as a farce by international observers.

Eleven people have died in the massive wildfires that continue to spread in the panhandle of Texas. Michele Norris talks with Kim Powell, the Fire Chief of Pampa, Texas, where four people have died from the fires.

A new formatting of credit scores has been created through a partnership among the three major credit-reporting agencies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Evan Hendricks, publisher and editor of Privacy Times talks with Michele Norris about the new system.

The apparent decision by Dubai Ports World to transfer ownership of its rights to U.S. port operations culminated a three-week long firestorm over the deal that took the White House by surprise. When the country learned of the deal, mostly through news reports and talk shows, the reaction was overwhelmingly negative.

Scores of Iraqis -- mostly Sunni Arabs -- have been killed since Wednesday's bombing of a major Shiite shrine north of Baghdad. Sunni political leaders have withdrawn from talks on a new government and say they will not return until attacks on Sunnis by mobs of Shiite men are halted.

President Bush is asking Congress to approve his rules for military commissions to try detainees accused of war crimes. He says court-martial rules are not appropriate for what he terms "illegal combatants." Some legal analysts are concerned that the president's rules leave defendants without enough rights.

The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas re-opened in New Orleans Friday, nine months after Hurricane Katrina killed thousands of fish and animals there. Lance Ripley of the aquarium tells Melissa Block that generous donations rebuilt and revived the facility.

Illegal border crossings are up in the San Diego area, even though a large National Guard contingent is providing support for the U.S. Border Patrol. Experts say beefed-up enforcement in Arizona and New Mexico is pushing illegal crossers toward California.

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks with Jon Levy, professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Boston University School of Public Health, about the thread he wrote about wearing a mask.

A Russian sergeant pleads guilty for killing a Ukrainian civilian in the war's first war crimes case. Such cases usually occur after a war ends. Ukraine wants to prosecute while the evidence is fresh.

President Bush this week is expected to sign a $70 billion tax-cut package into law. It will lower rates for investors and save billions of dollars for families with above-average incomes. Now Republicans in Congress are turning their attention toward the estate tax. They want it repealed permanently.