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NPR's Jackie Northam reports from Najaf on the "Hawza," the Islamic seminary in Najaf that provides guidance and religious instruction for Shia Muslims worldwide. The Hawza is gaining new prominence since the fall of Saddam Hussein, whose regime persecuted the Shia, especially their religious leaders.

Host Michele Norris talks with David Hirshey, executive editor of HarperCollins, about the rush to publish books by reporters who covered the war in Iraq. Hirshey says he recently signed a six-figure deal with Newsday correspondent Matt McAllester about being held by the Iraqis as a suspected spy.

The Federal Communications Commission considers removing all restrictions on the number of radio and television stations and networks media conglomerates can own. But community groups and independent broadcasters say there's been little room for public input in the process. NPR's Rick Karr reports.

U.S. Marines close in on Baghdad from the southeast, as the Iraqi army continues to take large losses and thousands more soldiers surrender. U.S. troops see no signs of major resistance, but sporadic fighting by Iraqi paramilitary forces continues to erupt outside the city. NPR's Mike Shuster reports.

The looting of Iraq's National Museum is so extensive that curators say it will be easier to catalogue what remains than to document what was stolen or destroyed. Museum staff are bitter that American troops were only a few hundred yards away when the looting started, but did nothing to stop it. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.

The paintings and drawings of Vietnam veteran Rick Bartow are not easily forgotten. His images are graphic and intense, shaped from the material of grief and fear. Many are on display in New York at an exhibition for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. NPR's Ketzel Levine reports on Bartow's work. View a gallery of his images.

Adding prescription drug coverage to Medicare is a hot topic again on Capitol Hill. Such a benefit would cost hundreds of billions of dollars, but no one knows where that money would come from. Still, a new poll shows a majority of Americans are in favor of the coverage -- and they think the government should foot most of the bill. NPR's Julie Rovner reports for Morning Edition. Get the complete poll results online.

A new poll shows that four out of 10 families have problems affording health care. Some are postponing visits to doctors or going without drug prescriptions because they don't have the money. Is a health care crisis looming? Richard Knox reports. Get the complete poll results online.

Nearly a century ago, a German chemist named Fritz Haber figured out a way to tap into the atmosphere's vast reservoir of nitrogen. That innovation led to nitrogen fertilizer, which transformed world food production. But the discovery has also created one of the world's greatest pollutants. NPR's Dan Charles reports.

Five people died last fall after anthrax spores were sent through the mail, and more than 30,000 people were advised to take antibiotics. A year later, the FBI has yet to make an arrest. Observers say the agency needs to re-examine the basic facts and assumptions of the case. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports for Morning Edition.