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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.

Through military campaigns, diplomatic ventures and presidential politics, George Washington was guided by a simple set of 110 maxims he first copied out as a Virginia schoolboy. In a newly published edition of the 'Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation,' Washington biographer Richard Brookhiser says these principles could teach modern-day Americans a thing or two about ambition and morality. Read the rules online.

An old theater in south Memphis that served as the studio for Stax Records is making its debut this weekend as the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Two of the top songwriters at Stax were Isaac Hayes and David Porter. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports.

A half century ago, a beekeeper from New Zealand and a Sherpa from Nepal reached the top of Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. To mark next month's anniversary of the epic ascent, Peter Hillary and Jamling Norgay return to Everest to retrace their fathers' legendary footsteps.

Arturo Sandoval's virtuosity is on full display in his newest album, Trumpet Evolution. On each of 19 songs, he imitates the style and technique of a great trumpeter who has come before him -- from Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie to Miles Davis and Wynton Marsalis. NPR's Linda Wertheimer speaks with Sandoval about his musical tribute.

Explosives teams move into southern Iraq, where nine of about a thousand oil wells are on fire. The teams check for booby-trapped wells, and one civilian company makes plans to import water to put out the fires. Hear NPR's Mike Shuster.

Investigators looking into the space shuttle Columbia accident say NASA workers made safety a top priority, but may have become so comfortable with successful missions that they didn't keep track of small issues that can turn deadly. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

Hip-hop culture, with its street rhythms and explicit lyrics, is more relevant in advancing civil rights today than the peaceful messages of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., author Todd Boyd says. In an interview with NPR's Scott Simon, Boyd says hip hop artists use language as a political weapon that provokes and "makes people think." (Note: Contains language that some may consider offensive.)

Deanna Witkowski draws on a variety of influences — from Chopin to Cole Porter to a relatively unknown Brazilian rhythm called baião. It's no wonder the pianist finds her music going in different directions — sometimes within the same song — as in her "Wide Open Window." Hear Liane Hansen's performance chat with Witkowski in NPR's Studio 4A.

The Bush administration condemns the assassination of a top commander of the Kurdish resistance in northern Iraq. A State Department spokesman says the United States had been working closely with Gen. Shawkat Haji Mushir. Mushir's death is blamed on a Kurdish Islamist movement with al Qaeda ties. NPR's Ivan Watson report.