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Residents of Basra are cleaning up and treating the wounded following the bloodiest day in the southern Iraqi city since the start of the war a year ago. Five suicide bombings left more than 70 people dead and at least 200 wounded. There's no word who carried out these attacks, but U.S officials suspect al Qaeda. Hear NPR's Emily Harris.

Nighttime battles are waged between U.S. forces and militiamen loyal to a radical Shiite cleric outside the holy city of Najaf. U.S. forces used tanks and warplanes in the battle, which left more than 60 militiamen dead, according to a military spokesman. Later, U.S. forces attacked parts of Fallujah from the air. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and NPR's Anne Garrels.

President Bush has reportedly privately scolded Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for failing to tell him about pictures depicting the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners. The White House has asked Congress for $25 billion in reserve funds to continue military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through the rest of the year. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

Some of you may have forgotten (and some might not even know) that the network created three radio dramas based on George Lucas' original three movies.

The federal rental aid program expects to distribute the rest of its money by mid-summer. Some cities have already run out of funding, pushing eviction filings higher than before the pandemic.

U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council should be disbanded in favor of a caretaker government that would receive sovereignty from the U.S.-led occupying forces on June 30. Brahimi's plan also calls for Iraqi elections to be held by the end of January 2004. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and NPR's Anne Garrels.

A U.S. civilian working for Halliburton in Iraq has escaped his captors after being held hostage for three weeks, say U.S. military commanders. Truck driver Thomas Hamill, from Macon, Miss., was taken captive during an April 9 ambush on a supply convoy and held in a house south of Tikrit, the U.S. military said. Hear NPR's Peter Kenyon.

Khalil Naimi, first secretary to the Iranian embassy in Baghdad, is shot and killed in his car by unnamed assailants. The assassination comes as an Iranian delegation is in Iraq to mediate in the standoff between U.S. forces in Najaf and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

Spending bill would fund new college scholarship program for high school graduates and increase operations funding for state universities by 11% overall.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets with President Bush Friday. British officials say Blair hopes to flesh out a role for the United Nations in Iraq's transition. Blair has faced criticism at home for having little influence when it comes to Iraq -- despite Britain's 10,000 troops there. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.