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California's fire season begins with two wildfires raging in Southern California, where more than 4,000 homes have been evacuated. Experts predict an especially harsh summer because warm weather in April caused an early snow melt. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and Rick Ochoa, manager of the National Fire Weather program.

In White House interviews with Arab television journalists, President Bush calls the reported abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. forces "abhorrent" and vows to punish those responsible. The interviews were part of an overall White House effort to limit the political damage from a scandal it admits has hurt America's image in the Arab world. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea.

President Bush's two-day bus tour to promote his re-election bid continues Tuesday with four stops in Ohio. On Monday, Bush traveled across Michigan. The two states are among the most fiercely contested this year. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

Six U.S. soldiers face courts-martial over allegations of prisoner abuse in Iraq. A military spokesman says seven other soldiers have been reprimanded. Iraqis gather outside Abu Ghuraib prison, where the abuses took place, hoping for news of their relatives. Details of how the abuses were allowed to occur are still emerging. Hear NPR's Peter Kenyon and NPR's Jackie Northam.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators meet for a rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in a show of support for abortion rights. The event, dubbed the March for Women's Lives, caps a weekend of rallies in the capital. Other issues raised included universal access to health care and same-sex marriage. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

China's booming economic growth has sparked a tremendous need for raw materials like cooper, steel and scrap metal. China must import this material, and prices have shot up. U.S. companies are having financial difficulties competing with China in the scrap-metal market. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Two American soldiers are killed in an explosion while raiding a Baghdad building suspected of producing chemical munitions. It's unclear whether the blast, which destroyed four U.S. Humvees and a large part of a building, was a deliberately detonated bomb or the result of an accident. Meanwhile, one U.S. soldier is killed in fierce fighting in Fallujah. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

U.S. military officials extend the cease-fire in the Iraqi city of Fallujah for at least two more days. U.S. officials agree to send troops on joint patrols with Iraqi police and civil defense officers in Fallujah instead of launching an assault on the city. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Washington Post reporter Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

The Senate Armed Services Committee receives a closed-door briefing from Army officials on the alleged abuse of Iraqis detained by U.S. military police. Lawmakers want to know if the problem is more widespread than has been reported. Critics say Pentagon leaders aren't doing enough to address the allegations. Hear NPR's David Welna.

Investment banker Frank Quattrone, who rose to fame during the dot-com stock bubble, is convicted of obstructing justice in a federal investigation. After deliberating for more than seven hours, a federal jury found Quattrone guilty in a case that hinged on an email in which Quattrone encouraged colleagues to destroy files. An appeal is expected. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and NPR's Jim Zarroli.