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Trials begin in three states over a new federal law banning certain types of abortion. Abortion-rights activists oppose the law, saying it erodes a woman's right to choose abortion by threatening all second-trimester abortions. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and NPR's Robert Smith.

The Senate approves legislation making it a separate crime to kill or injure a fetus while committing a federal crime against a pregnant woman. Opponents denounce the bill as an effort to undermine abortion rights by recognizing a fetus as a person. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR's Andrea Seabrook.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, refuses to apologize for calling his Republican opposition "crooked." Kerry took part in the Senate's budget debate Thursday and met with House Democrats eager to boost his candidacy. Congressional Republicans repeated calls for Kerry to retract his remarks. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

Sen. John Kerry takes another step toward clinching the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday with victories in Southern states. Kerry, who no longer faces substantial competition in his bid to oppose President George Bush, had campaigned heavily in Florida, a likely November battleground. Hear NPR's David Welna.

Eight months before the U.S. presidential election, likely voters are paying unusually close attention to the contest ahead, and they're polarized in their views, according to the latest NPR poll. The poll finds that if the election were held today, voters would be almost evenly split between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

A pair of horrific bombings at Shiite shrines in Iraq earlier in the week have apparently not inflamed Sunni-Shiite passions -- at least for now. But the attacks that left more than 180 dead have increased overall Iraqi opposition to the American occupation. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

The first official commercials for President Bush's re-election campaign appear Thursday on cable television in more than a dozen states. The ads, in English and Spanish, emphasize Bush's leadership, the war on terrorism and the economy, but they don't mention his all-but-official Democratic opponent, Sen. John Kerry. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

NASA says it has found signs that water may have once flowed on Mars. Scientists studying samples of rock analyzed by the Mars rover Opportunity say they see chemical signs of contact with water. NPR's Joe Palca reports.

U.S. officials, political opponents of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and heavily armed rebels discuss plans for an interim government for Haiti. Rebels, who rode triumphantly into Port-au-Prince Monday, aren't laying down their arms as promised. The White House denies Aristide's allegations that U.S officials forced him to resign. Hear NPR's Gerry Hadden and NPR's Michele Kelemen.

Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide steps down, bowing to months of protests and a growing armed rebellion that had taken over several cities. International attempts to broker a power-sharing agreement between Aristide and the opposition proved fruitless, leading several nations -- including France and the United States -- to call for Aristide to step down. NPR's Liane Hansen talks with NPR's Gerry Hadden from Port-au-Prince.