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The U.S. military reports it has had no trouble reaching its recruiting goals, even with the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. NPR's Melissa Block spends a few days with an Army recruiter in Texas for a look at what's inspiring young Americans to sign up.

A few weeks ago the media reported that the last widow of a Civil War veteran had died. The news surprised the family of Maudie Celia Hopkins, who stepped forward to say that she, too, married a civil war veteran, and she's still alive. The Arkansas woman is 89 years old. The United Daughters of the Confederacy confirmed her story. As a teenager, Hopkins married an 86-year-old veteran who'd hired her to clean his house.

Former New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso says he'll fight an effort to make him return much of his controversial $188 million pay package. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed suit Monday against Grasso, a board member and the exchange, demanding that Grasso return about $100 million of the $140 million he's received to date. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney threatens to crack down on same-sex couples coming into the state to marry, citing a 91-year-old law against licensing couples who would not be allowed to marry in their own state. Romney has vowed to take action against clerks who issue licenses to out-of-town couples. NPR's Tovia Smith reports.

New York Times Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas Friedman is the reporter/narrator of the Discovery Channel documentary, The Other Side of Outsourcing -- about jobs going to India. (Thursday, June 3 at 10 p.m. EST). Friedman has written about outsourcing and globalization in his columns. He is the author of the best-selling book Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for his coverage of the Middle East.

Attorney General John Ashcroft says the United States is in danger of being "hit hard" by the al Qaeda terrorist organization, noting intelligence suggesting a looming attack. Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller drew new attention to photos of seven suspected al Qaeda operatives at a news conference prompted by what Ashcroft called "a clear and present danger." NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

Research shows that teachers with degrees in the subjects they teach are more successful. But people with math degrees are often poor math teachers. Experts say the best instructors are those that can untangle where students went wrong. Robert Frederick reports.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his nation's intelligence services gave the Bush administration information after the September 11 terror attacks that suggested Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was planning to strike against the United States. Nonetheless, Russia remained adamantly opposed to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. NPR's Lawrence Sheets reports from Moscow.

A day-long odyssey that began at the Capitol Rotunda, then to the Washington National Cathedral, and finally on a presidential jet to Southern California came to and end Friday when the late President Ronald Reagan's casket was interred at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley. Rachael Myrow of member station KPCC reports from along the motorcade route leading from Pt. Mugu Naval Air Station on the coast, where the late president's casket arrived, to the library in the inland valley.

A U.N. envoy meets with Iraq's top Shiite Muslim cleric, seeking to resolve the dispute over the cleric's call to elect a transitional assembly. U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says he agrees with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's demand for elections but is unsure whether a vote could be held before a June 30 U.S. deadline for a power transfer. NPR's Deborah Amos reports.