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Peruvians are embracing the music of Peru Negro, a group of performers formed to preserve the country's African musical heritage. At first, many white Peruvians were wary of the group's music, but now black Peruvian music is in vogue and playing a role in shaping the country's social agenda. Rolando Arrieta reports.

President Bush says George Tenet has resigned as CIA director for "personal reasons" and will leave the spy agency next month. Tenet has been under intense fire for intelligence failures in Iraq. His deputy will lead the agency temporarily until a successor is found. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.

One year after a transitional government was installed to reunify the Democratic Republic of the Congo and end its civil war, the government controls little of the vast nation. Riots and recent fighting have raised the specter of renewed conflict. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports on the nation's decimated infrastructure, endemic corruption, and general impoverishment.

NPR's Alex Chadwick talks to Washington Post obituary writer Adam Bernstein about being at an obituary writers conference as news came out about the death of former President Ronald Reagan.

For some former gang members, removing old tattoos is a painful but crucial step to leaving their violent pasts behind. In East Los Angeles, a free tattoo removal program aims to help these ex-gang members turn their lives around. Mary Beth Kirchner reports.

President Bush addresses the graduating class at the United States Air Force Academy, telling them the war on terror is the modern equivalent of World War II or the struggle against Communism. The speech in Colorado Springs, Colo., also made it clear that the president considers the fighting in Iraq to be the central front in the war on terror. NPR's White House Correspondent Don Gonyea reports.

The United States and Britain circulate a revised draft U.N. resolution on Iraq that gives the new Iraqi government complete control over its own security forces, and sets an approximate timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces. Meanwhile, the interim Iraqi government named Tuesday begins setting its governing priorities, but some question how truly independent it will be from U.S. authorities. Hear NPR's Emily Harris.

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.

A staff report from the Sept. 11 commission says the Pentagon's air-defense command wasted precious time and missed a chance to intercept at least one of the hijacked planes used in the 2001 attacks. The report largely blames inadequate emergency procedures that didn't account for a response to suicide hijackings. Hear NPR's Mary Louise Kelly and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

One of the most competitive contests in the U.S. House of Representatives this year is also one of the most ethnically diverse. Republican Goli Ameri, originally from Iran, is challenging Democratic incumbent David Wu, the only Chinese-American member of Congress. Colin Fogarty reports from Oregon Public Broadcasting.