Search results for

U.S. forces crossing the Tigris River in their push toward the Iraqi capital have "destroyed" the Baghdad Division of Iraq's elite Republican Guard, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks of the U.S. Central Command says. Meanwhile, U.S. warplanes bombard the strategic city of Karbala and U.S. Marines move to within 37 miles of Baghdad. Hear NPR's Nick Spicer.

Iraq's health minister says more than 350 civilians have been killed since the war began, including 36 in Baghdad over the past 24 hours. Most of the victims died in an attack on a commercial district in the city; Iraqi officials blame the bombing on U.S. missiles, but the Pentagon says it did not target the area. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

The United States steps up airstrikes against Iraqi targets north of Baghdad. Kurdish forces in northern Iraq welcome the support, and officials there report an increase in surrenders by Iraqi troops. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with our regular political contributors; David Brooks of the Weekly Standard and E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution. They discuss domestic political reactions to the war, particularly regarding the budget, and the presidential primary.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases testing affirmative action in higher education. Three white students who have challenged the University of Michigan's admissions programs allege the university uses a quota system that unfairly benefits minority applicants. Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg.

A 12th grade teacher in Tucson, Arizona, talks to her students about poetry, and ends up talking about the war in Iraq.

Iraq's information minister, reading a statement he said was from Saddam Hussein, calls for a holy war against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Meanwhile, Iraq's vice president insists the U.S. military has been unable to make progress in its march to Baghdad and that Iraq has foiled U.S. war plans. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

As the U.S. Supreme Court reviews challenges to the University of Michigan's affirmative action policies, law students at the Ann Arbor campus follow the debate with mixed reactions. NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports.

For some perspective on how the Arab world views the conflict in Iraq, NPR's Melissa Block talks with Fahmi Howeidi, commentator and columnist for the Egyptian paper Al-Ahram; and Khaled Al-Maeena, editor in chief of the English-language daily Arab News in Saudi Arabia.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld denies reports that the Pentagon refused requests for more troops by the U.S. commander for the war in Iraq, Gen. Tommy Franks. Rumsfeld defends the war plan for Iraq as "excellent," and notes that Gen. Franks drafted the U.S. battle strategy. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.