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Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Africa next week to examine the situation in the Darfur region in Western Sudan, where government-backed militias are accused of carrying out rape, murder and forced evacuations against black farming communities. U.S. officials say they are investigating whether the situation amounts to genocide, but a growing number of lawmakers say the case is already clear. Hear NPR's Michele Kelemen.

In a 5-4 vote with vast repercussions for the U.S. criminal justice system, the Supreme Court invalidates the criminal sentencing system of Washington state. The court's ruling emphasizes the role of juries in determining sentences, and stirs speculation that the sentencing guidelines used by many states and the federal government won't be able to withstand a constitutional challenge. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

At least 35 Iraqis die and more than 100 others are wounded in a pair of car bombings: a suicide attack at the gate of a Baghdad military base where new Iraqi army recruits were being processed, and a second bombing in the town of Balad, north of the capital, that killed members of Iraq's Civil Defense Corps. NPR's Emily Harris reports.

Preliminary hearings in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal begin in Baghdad with a bombshell allegation: A witness testifies that a U.S. colonel in military intelligence helped to cover up the beating death of a detainee. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and Jackie Spinner of The Washington Post.

NPR's Madeleine Brand talks to Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and The Washington Post senior editor Steve Coll about the future of the CIA after the agency's embattled director, George Tenet, abruptly announced his resignation. Tenet is expected to leave the post in mid-July.

The U.S. Department of Labor announces the addition of nearly 250,000 new jobs in April, marking the ninth sucessive month of U.S. job growth. The Bush administration hails the numbers, but Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry calls the job growth too slow, and notes the nation's overall unemployment rate did not change. Both Democrats and Republicans are touting their rival plans for job growth as the election nears. Hear NPR's Jim Zarroli.

From the outset of his presidency, Ronald Reagan aimed to re-establish a conservative voice on the Supreme Court. He did so by promoting the bench's most conservative justice, William Rehnquist, to chief justice, and appointing leading conservative thinker Antonin Scalia to the court. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Nina Totenberg.

President Bush hosts a summit of the Group of Eight nations in Sea Island, Ga., this week. Though trade and economic issues are on the agenda, Iraq is expected to dominate the discussions. President Bush is trying to win support from world leaders for a U.N. resolution on the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Don Gonyea.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have both focused on the risks to other rights like marriage and contraception since the draft Supreme Court opinion leaked.

Many politicians cite the late President Ronald Reagan as a major inspiration for their career choice. Rep. Dana Rohrbacher (R-CA) was a high school student when he volunteered for Reagan's first campaign for California governor in the 1960s. Paul Begala became active in Democratic Party politics after hearing Reagan speak at the University of Texas in the 1970s. They share their memories with NPR's Susan Stamberg.