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Pakistani authorities say they believe their troops have cornered Osama bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, near the Afghan-Pakistan border. Pakistani forces are engaged in a fierce battle there with tribal leaders and al Qaeda fighters. U.S. officials say they cannot confirm the reports. Hear NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.

The new Israeli film Broken Wings has garnered international praise, winning top prizes not only in Israel but at film festivals in Toyko and Berlin as well. Critics say the melodrama about a dysfunctional family could take place anywhere. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan has a review.

John McCormack was one of the greatest, most versatile singers of the last century. Not only did the Irish tenor sing famous folk songs like "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling," he also was a much-admired opera singer. Commentator Miles Hoffman and NPR's Bob Edwards offer a special St. Patrick's Day retrospective of McCormack's career. Hear samples of Irish folk songs performed by McCormack.

A new survey of the best cities for business finds that affordability is more important than being fashionable. As a result, Inc. magazine put Riverside and San Bernardino, Calif., and the New Jersey cities of Camden and Newark high on its list. See the magazine's lists of the best and worst places for companies to thrive.

Myanmar plans to announce the creation of the largest tiger reserve in the world -- an entire valley nearly the size of Vermont. NPR's Renee Montagne discusses the plan with the Wildlife Conservation Society's Alan Rabinowitz, who helped bring the change.

The Cold War was raging during the late summer of 1972 when reigning world chess champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union met American challenger Bobby Fischer in Iceland. A new book by two BBC journalists details the match and its high-stakes geopolitical context.

The Stars and Stripes has been a staple of wartime since World War I, bringing soldiers news from home and the battlefront. The newspaper strives to provide an independent voice while under military control. Some readers and even some of its reporters have claimed the paper is too cozy with the military, while many in the top brass say it's too hostile. NPR's Bob Edwards reports.

In 1943, a Marine pilot kept a diary during his service in World War II. Lt. Charles C. Winnia chronicled his missions flying against the Japanese in the Pacific, and his love for a girl back in Nashville, Tenn. Winnia was shot down, and never came home. His diary -- nearly forgotten for over 60 years -- was recently discovered and read by his sweetheart, Violet Jane Watkins, for the first time. Read diary excerpts and hear Watkins read Winnia's last letter to her.

Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson has spent more than 20 years writing a cycle of plays that chronicle black life in 20th-century America, decade by decade. For Intersections, a Morning Edition series on artists and their inspirations, the playwright discusses how he first found the language of the black experience in blues legend Bessie Smith.

The Trilogy, the latest project from French actor-director Lucas Belvaux, consists of three films with distinct plots populated by the same cast of characters. The project has already won France's top critics prize. Each film -- a crime drama, a romantic farce and a forlorn love story -- will open sequentially in U.S. theaters over the course of three weeks. Pat Dowell reports.