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President Bush formally announces the selection of former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik to succeed Tom Ridge as head of the Department of Homeland Security. Kerik would be the second person to head the two-year-old agency. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

President Bush's first term brought some of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. In his second term, he wants to revamp the tax code altogether; some in Congress favor a tax based on what people spend, not on what they earn. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

In Sri Lanka, the death toll from the tsunami is now above 28,000. In the village of Ahangama, volunteers delivered blankets and bags of rice to survivors. The government declares a national day of mourning, but many people didn't need an official declaration. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

President Bush says military personnel in Iraq are right to question whether they're getting the best possible equipment, but the White House insists armored vehicles are being produced as fast as possible. Some contractors disagree. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

A funeral mass is held for the first New York firefighter to die in combat in Iraq. Sgt. Christian Engeldrum was among the rescuers who responded to the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 and served in New York's National Guard. Richard Hake of member station WNYC reports.

The National Guard announces it has missed its recruiting goals by 30 percent in the last two months. In response, they are offering new incentives, including cash bonuses for new recruits and those willing to reenlist. NPR's Anthony Brooks reports.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) calls for a congressional investigation into why the Federal Emergency Management Agency spent $29 million of funds meant for hurricane relief in the Miami area, even though that region experienced conditions akin to a thunderstorm. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

Recent debate over the intelligence reform bill raised to a national level the divisive issue of granting drivers' licenses to illegal immigrants, but states have been struggling with the problem for decades. The central question is how to protect public safety without rewarding illegal entry. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

A freighter carrying nearly 500,000 gallons of fuel runs aground off the coast of Alaska in the Aleutian chain. A search continues for six crewmembers missing in the frigid Bering Sea. NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports.

The U.S. leads an operation against insurgents in an area south of Iraq's capital. Known as the "triangle of death," the region has been the scene of almost daily attacks on Iraqi government troops and police. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.