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Conducting airstrikes and artillery assaults, U.S. forces clash with Iraqi troops in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. U.S. military planners had expected remnants of the Iraqi army and Baath party may mount a last stand there, but reports suggest that many soldiers have fled and that defenses in the city are seriously weakened. Hear Michael Ware of Time magazine.

Health officials in Canada close some hospitals to all patients but those with a new, contagious form of pneumonia, called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). So far, the new disease has struck more than 130 people in Greater Toronto and killed seven. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

The war in Iraq now is a month old, and U.S.-led forces continue searching for weapons of mass destruction. But so far, no smoking gun. Military officials say they're confident evidence of such weapons will be found, but admit feeling pressured to produce results. From the Pentagon, NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.

Jay Garner, the retired general appointed by the Bush administration to oversee Iraq's reconstruction, arrives in Baghdad. Garner says his first priority is to restore basic services and rebuild damaged infrastructure. Garner's visit comes amid reports that two senior members of the Saddam Hussein regime are in U.S. custody. Hear NPR's Jackie Northam.

NPR's Ivan Watson reports that U.S. forces are working hard to win public support in Mosul -- the city where American troops have met their greatest resistance. Tensions are running high in this northern Iraqi city, long a bastion of Arab nationalism and considerable support for Saddam Hussein. The influx of Kurds has the Arab majority edgy, and they're taking out their frustrations on U.S. troops.

U.S. Marines consolidate their hold on Saddam Hussein's hometown, one day after capturing Tikrit without much of a fight. But there's been no celebrating -- many of the town's Arab residents are hostile to the Americans. Some still openly voice support for Saddam. Meanwhile, there's trouble just north of Tikrit where Arab fighters have clashed with Kurdish paramilitary forces. NPR's Ivan Watson reports from Tikrit.

In her second and final report, NPR's Neda Ulaby talks to women music producers about the difficulties of a career behind the audio console. Once you get past the drugs and the groupies, what happens if you want to raise a family? Music includes Dusty Springfield, Queens of the Stone Age and Lady Marmalade.

New SARS cases turn up in Toronto, causing a new travel alert from U.S. health officials. And scientists in Hong Kong say they have strong evidence that the SARS virus was transmitted to humans by an animal called the civet. It's a rare animal in southern China, but is sometimes served as a specialty dish in restaurants. Katherine Schlatter reports.

NPR's Larry Abramson reports the head of the nation's space agency appeared on Capitol Hill today to answer questions about the disaster that befell space shuttle Columbia. Sean O'Keefe told members of Congress that mission controllers did not see any data before the shuttle's re-entry to earth's atmosphere that warned of a possible catastrophe. He also said NASA will release the findings of an independent panel investigating the accident as soon as it reaches its conclusions.

They cover the military for The Washington Post. They'll discuss military preparedness for the war with Iraq. They collaborated on the special report "Unrivaled Military Feels Strains of Unending War: For U.S. Forces, a Technological Revolution and a Constant Call to Do More." In it they said, "The more capable the U.S. military has become, the more it has been asked to do, and now strains are beginning to show."