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Music critic Michelle Mercer reviews new recordings from two Brazilian artists: Natural by Celso Fonseca, and the self-titled Blue Note debut by the Tribalistas. She says both will put you in the mood for summer.

Before the war in Iraq, the Pentagon assumed that much of the Iraqi army would survive the conflict and would help with postwar reconstruction. U.S. military planners hoped that surviving Iraqi forces would form the basis of a new national army, which would stabilize the country and protect it from outside aggression. But the war did such damage to the Iraqi military that U.S. occupation authorities have little to work with as they try to reconstitute an army. In addition, they have to contend with a demoralized officer corps and ethnic and religious differences in the ranks. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

As U.S.-led forces continue their search for biological and chemical weapons in Iraq, Congress and the British Parliament consider launching investigations into whether intelligence findings about possible illegal weapons in Iraq were exaggerated to justify going to war. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

Public concern is growing that the justifications for a war in Iraq were exaggerated, as those searching for weapons of mass destruction have turned up empty-handed. Commentator Andrea Carlisle ponders the fate of lost weapons of mass destruction.

A harsh new report on the state of the nation's oceans and coastal areas calls for a massive overhaul of the laws and agencies meant to keep those waters healthy. NPR's John Nielsen reports.

In the third of a four-part National Geographic Radio Expedition, NPR's Alex Chadwick follows Wade Davis to Araouane, a caravan town at least 1,000 years old.

Kaige is the director, writer, producer and acts in the new film Together, a coming-of-age tale about a 13-year-old Chinese boy who plays violin. The boy's father takes him from their provincial Chinese city to Beijing, seeking prominence. But plans change as the boy grows up and ultimately chooses his own path. Kaige is best known for his film Farewell My Concubine, which was nominated for an Oscar. His other films include Yellow Earth, The Big Parade and Killing Me Softly.

In the conclusion of a four part series on Wal-Mart, NPR's Scott Horsley reports on labor problems facing the company. As the nation's largest private employer, the company has faced multiple class-action lawsuits from disenchanted employees. Critics say that Wal-Mart's system of reducing labor costs to keep its prices down is short-sighted and ineffectual when less than half of its workers are covered by the company's health plan.

In the second of a three-part series, Laura Sydell reports on how changes in FCC regulations might impact the communities that broadcasters are serving.

NPR's Deborah Amos reports on the difficulties facing American officials trying to create a new civil administration in Iraq. One particular problem is whether and how to work with members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party. Paul Bremer, the head of the U.S. civil administration in Iraq, has outlawed the Baath Party.