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Today President Bush conferred with China Vice Premier Qian Qichen -- the highest ranking official from Beijing since the administration took office. Qian's top priority is waylaying the proposed sale of advanced anti-missile technology to Taiwan. The Bush administration must decide next month whether to make the sale. Human rights was also a topic of discussion.

Jacki speaks with Edward Murphy, president of the Medal of Honor Historical Society about the importance of combat medals to military personnel. This week, the Navy's top naval officer Admiral Jeremy 'Mike' Boorda took his own life. His suicide has been linked to questions over whether he was qualified to wear two Vietnam war decorations.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports from Sarajevo that in the face of continued manipulation by the leader of the Bosnian Serbs, Radovan Karadzic, no one seems to know what to do next. Neither the top civilian in Bosnia, Carl Bildt, nor the IFOR Commander, Admiral Leighton Smith or any of the Western powers seem to want to take responsibility for the next steps in the peace process.

NPR's Michael Goldfarb reports on the European Union summit to be held in Dublin, Ireland, beginning tomorrow. At the top of the agenda is a single currency for Europe. When Europeans agreed to a single, common market four years ago, they also agreed to a single currency. But the simple idea of one currency for all of Europe has set off a complex set of reactions.

Linda talks with senior citizens who live at the On Top Of The World retirement community in Clearwater, Florida. This is a community of mostly Republican seniors that has served as a stopover for political candidates. Florida has cast its votes for the Republican presidential candidate since 1976...but these seniors seem to have a lackluster support for presumptive Republican nominee Bob Dole.

Flying tourists over the Grand Canyon is big business. But the federal government now says it's too noisy, and has decided to restrict where, when and how often planes and helicopters can cruise over the West's top tourist attraction. NPR's Howard Berkes reports that neither environmentalists nor tour companies are happy with the compromise regulations.

A car bomb explodes near the Baghdad police station, wounding at least 14 people and damaging the offices of the U.S.-appointed police chief. The blast comes four days after an explosion at a Najaf mosque killed a top Shiite cleric and at least 80 others. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson and Fawaz Gerges of Sarah Lawrence College.

Noah talks with NPR's national political correspondent Elizabeth Arnold, who is with the Dole campaign today in Ohio. Dole spoke at a Christian school in Dayton, where he talked about his education proposals and criticized plans for elections next week in Bosnia-Herzegovina. His campaign was shaken up today by the resignation of two top media advisors.

Producer Ben Shapiro brings us another installment in the New York Works series, about jobs that are slowly disappearing from the city of New York. Today we meet Charlie Zimmerman, who works for Rosenwach Wood Tanks. Rosewach is one of the few companies left that maintains water tanks on top of many New York buildings.

Top officials from the Bush and Clinton administrations tell the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks that they had no specific intelligence before the attacks suggesting terrorists might hijack airliners and crash them into the World Trade Center. But last year, Congress published a report saying a number of warnings detailing the attacks were ignored. Hear NPR's Danny Zwerdling.

President Bush insists that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will stay in his cabinet despite revelations of Iraqi prisoner abuse at the hands of U.S. troops. Top Democrats are calling for Rumsfeld to resign. The defense secretary is to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee Friday. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea, NPR's Michele Norris and Sen. Jeff Sessions.

One of Iraq's top foreign ministry officials, Bassam Kubba, died Saturday after being shot by unknown gunmen in Baghdad. He is the first member of Iraq's two-week-old interim government to be killed. Kubba worked through the ranks of the foreign ministry under Saddam Hussein and became ambassador to China. NPR's Emily Harris reports.

Evidence before the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks reveals that, in the months before the attacks, intelligence reports suggesting a major terrorist threat against U.S. interests surged. Reports also suggest top intelligence officials questioned the Bush administration's response to what's being dubbed the "summer of threat." Hear NPR's Pam Fessler.

Filmmaker Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 arrives in U.S. theaters, after winning the top prize at the Cannes film festival and being shelved by the Disney Co., its original backer. The film, which criticizes President Bush's response to the attacks of Sept. 11, is being released independently. NPR's Bob Mondello has a review.

NPR's Christopher Joyce in Baghdad reports the U.S. civil administration in Iraq has again postponed plans to establish an interim Iraqi authority to help govern the country. A conference to create the authority had been expected in June, but the top U.S. official in Baghdad, Paul Bremer, told reporters it will not be held before mid-July at the earliest.

Top U.S. military officials warn that the war has not ended in Iraq, especially in the north, despite successes in Baghdad and other key cities. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, says only after hostilities have ended can the military turn to matters such as policing against looters. Myers talks to NPR's Robert Siegel.

Lt. General David McKiernan, the top commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, pledges to "aggressively target" crime in Baghdad and restore order to the city. Military officials deny a New York Times report suggesting U.S. forces now have permission to shoot looters, including children, on sight. NPR's Guy Raz reports.

Leaders of the world's top economic democracies meet in Sea Island, Ga., for the annual Group of Eight summit on global economic and political issues. Leaders from Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq's new interim government are also attending the event. Issues surrounding Iraq's future and democratic reform in the Mideast are expected to fill the agenda. Hear NPR's Jim Zarroli.

Though critical consensus formed around some sonically beautiful records, Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson is far more likely to dwell on albums and songs that exude a fair bit earned insight, even ache. Thompson's Top 10 may be the equivalent of a single teardrop in a vast sea of year-end reflection, but the music is pretty glorious.

The Onion bills itself as American's Finest News Source, though its brand of news is far from the "real" variety. Recent headlines include: "Cat General Says War On String May Be Unwinnable," and "Miracle of Birth Occurs for 83 Billionth Time." Now a daily audio version is zooming to the top of iTunes' list of most-downloaded podcasts.