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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vows to maintain his country's participation in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, despite the execution of an Italian hostage by Iraqi militants. The militants are threatening to kill three other Italian hostages seized this week if Italian troops aren't withdrawn. Hear NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

A week ago, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected to a second term in a country emerging from more than a decade of civil strife. Many Algerians wonder how he intends to bridge the gap between the nation's Islamists, secular civil society and restless ethnic Berber minority. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports.

In the second of three stories on the mood of the country, NPR's John Ydstie visits a farm cooperative in Lincoln County, just outside St. Louis. The biggest issue is growth and development, as farm land turning into housing divisions and suburbs. On the national and international front, the war in Iraq is most important - and views are mixed. The economic outlook has brighten a lot in this region with corn and soybean prices up so overall, there's a pretty optimistic outlook.

NPR's Michele Norris talks with KPBS reporter Eric Niiler who is embedded with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force outside the Iraqi city of Fallujah where four civilian security contractors and five soldiers were killed in separate attacks earlier this week. The city is a flashpoint of anti-American violence.

Some 2,500 U.S. troops remain deployed on the outskirts of the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf, where radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is holed up. Iraqi and Iranian officials are meeting with Sadr in hopes of averting a full-scale assault on Najaf. NPR's Melissa Block talks with NPR's Philip Reeves.

With New York's Times Square set to mark its 100th anniversary this month, writer James Traub releases The Devil’s Playground, the story of how this mercurial district became one of the most famous and exciting places in the world. Hear NPR's Howard Berkes and Traub.

Security and insurance costs are driving up the price of rebuilding Iraq, according to contractors. An official with the Coalition Provisional Authority told Congress this week that security costs now represent at least 10 percent of the total contract amounts awarded. The official's report warns that more cash might be needed to finish the job. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports.

Sen. John Kerry has all but secured the Democratic Party's nomination for president, but rival U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio continues campaigning. Kucinich says he's staying in the race to keep certain issues alive within the party: universal health care, trade reform and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Kucinich speaks with NPR's Bob Edwards.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Get Away From Me, the debut album by singer-songwriter Nellie McKay.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh tells the Sept. 11 panel that, given limited resources and legal authority, his agency did everything it could to fight terror prior to the 2001 attacks. The commission releases documents showing Attorney General John Ashcroft rejected an FBI request for more money on Sept. 10, 2001, and that fighting terror was not a Justice Department priority prior to Sept. 11. Hear NPR's Pam Fessler.