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The world's nerve center for disease detection is located in Geneva, Switzerland, at the World Health Organization. They've found a new way of combating disease, trying to spot it at its earliest stages and nip it in bud. WHO looks at what's going on everyday everywhere, assisted heavily by the Web. No longer can countries hide and obfuscate outbreaks, or even minimize them. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

A massive truck bomb rips through a Baghdad hotel that served as the headquarters of the U.N. mission to Iraq. At least 20 people are killed, including U.N. special representative to Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello. More than 100 people are wounded. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

A year ago Saturday, President Bush stood on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and declared an end to major combat in Iraq. But renewed fighting has forced the president to reframe that message, and opponents of the administration's policy on Iraq have become increasingly vocal in the Senate. NPR's David Welna reports.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators meet for a rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in a show of support for abortion rights. The event, dubbed the March for Women's Lives, caps a weekend of rallies in the capital. Other issues raised included universal access to health care and same-sex marriage. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

China's booming economic growth has sparked a tremendous need for raw materials like cooper, steel and scrap metal. China must import this material, and prices have shot up. U.S. companies are having financial difficulties competing with China in the scrap-metal market. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

U.S. military officials extend the cease-fire in the Iraqi city of Fallujah for at least two more days. U.S. officials agree to send troops on joint patrols with Iraqi police and civil defense officers in Fallujah instead of launching an assault on the city. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

The Bush administration releases new rules governing which employees have the right to receive overtime pay. While not as far-reaching as some lawmakers had desired, the central revision raises the threshold for overtime from workers earning $65,000 to those making $100,000. The regulations had not been seriously updated for 50 years. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports.

President Bush has reportedly privately scolded Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for failing to tell him about pictures depicting the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners. The White House has asked Congress for $25 billion in reserve funds to continue military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the rest of the year. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

There are an estimated 6,000 western private security contractors in Iraq. Often times, the line between defense and offense can blur as contractors are drawn into heavy firefights with insurgents. There's no real authority structure to control these contractors, and some U.S. lawmakers worry that it's setting a dangerous precedent in a war zone. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, refuses to apologize for calling his Republican opposition "crooked." Kerry took part in the Senate's budget debate Thursday and met with House Democrats eager to boost his candidacy. Congressional Republicans repeated calls for Kerry to retract his remarks. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.