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Paul Bremer, the top U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, visits the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in his first official visit outside of Baghdad since arriving in the country last week. Bremer denies reports that the United States plans to postpone the formation of an interim Iraqi government, but does not give a firm date for its creation. Hear NPR's Guy Raz.

A top commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq says troops have recovered "documentary evidence" that the country's former regime had an active chemical and biological weapons program. But Lt. Gen. William Wallace says no signs have surfaced that Saddam Hussein's forces deployed the banned weapons for use against U.S. forces. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

Thomas Ricks, senior Pentagon correspondent for The Washington Post, discusses this week's long-awaited progress report from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the top two American officials in Iraq.

The Onion bills itself as American's Finest News Source, though its brand of news is far from the "real" variety. Recent headlines include: "Cat General Says War On String May Be Unwinnable," and "Miracle of Birth Occurs for 83 Billionth Time." Now a daily audio version is zooming to the top of iTunes' list of most-downloaded podcasts.

The cost of rebuilding the Gulf Coast after the hurricane could top $200 billion -- roughly the same cost of the Iraq war. But President Bush says the money to pay for it should come from spending cuts, not new taxes.

Novelist Tim LaHaye is the co-author of the popular Left Behind series. The books are apocalyptic Christian thrillers. The tenth and latest book is The Remnant, which debuted at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. LaHaye is also the former co-chairman of Jack Kemp's presidential campaign, was on the original board of directors of the Moral Majority and was an organizer of the Council for National Policy which has been called "the most powerful conservative organization in America you've never heard of."

A soon-to-be released book by journalist Bob Woodward -- of Watergate fame -- says President Bush asked top military leaders to plan for war in Iraq even as U.S. soldiers were attacking the Taliban in Afghanistan. The allegations were largely confirmed by the White House press secretary. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

Top officials from the Bush and Clinton administrations tell the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks that they had no specific intelligence before the attacks suggesting terrorists might hijack airliners and crash them into the World Trade Center. But last year, Congress published a report saying a number of warnings detailing the attacks were ignored. Hear NPR's Danny Zwerdling.

A new book about Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, shows the personal and financial damage the Sept. 11 attacks caused the company. On Top of the World discusses how the brokerage firm survived after losing most of its employees in the terrorist attacks. NPR's Juan Williams reports.

The State Department has collected essays of 15 top authors on what it means to be an American writer. The anthology, aimed at promoting American values abroad, will be distributed free at U.S. embassies worldwide. An anti-propaganda law makes it illegal to disseminate the works in the United States, but they are available on a government Web site aimed at foreign audiences. NPR's Susan Stamberg interviews novelists Bharati Mukherjee and Charles Johnson about their participation in the project.