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Senior English and Russian referees have been cut from the World Cup roster, after their controversial handling of previous matches. Graham Poll, who issued three yellow cards to one player in a match, and Valentin Ivanov, who worked the Portugal-Netherlands second-round match, were omitted.

Contracts awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for post-Hurricane Katrina work along the Gulf Coast were initially awarded to big firms. But some local, smaller firms are questioning the deals. Unsuccessful bidders say the government didn't follow its own rules.

The Scottish actor and comedian Billy Connolly, seen most recently as Uncle Monty in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, hits New York City this month with a stage show.

One observer of the security situation in Iraq says that the U.S. response to Iraq's growing violence is failing to quell the trouble.

Deborah Martin successfully sued her ex-husband last week for domestic violence. The jury ordered Martin's ex-husband to pay her more than $500,000 for medical bills and damages.

The past week has brought big changes to CIA headquarters. Former CIA officials tell NPR that there's a growing sense of optimism for the future. In particular, they generally like the choice of Gen. Michael Hayden to lead the spy organization.

Congress is demanding answers from the Bush administration about published allegations that the National Security Agency is secretly collecting the phone records of millions of Americans. Lawmakers and privacy advocates say they're still not being told the full story about the domestic activities of the NSA.

The nation's largest Spanish-language media company has been sold. A consortium of investors has agreed to pay about $13 billion to acquire the company, which reaches into the homes of about 98 percent of Spanish-speaking households in the United States.

Iran's supreme leader says his country does "not need" to hold talks with the U.S. over Iran's nuclear program. But state TV also reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Iran is ready to hold such talks if others recognize Iran's right to nuclear energy.

The U.S. Congress passes a $70 billion tax-cut package that would extend lower capital gains rates for investors. President Bush says he will gladly sign the bill into law. John Ydstie talks about the tax package with Len Burman of the Tax Policy Center.