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Two memos prepared by Bush administration lawyers and high-ranking officials suggest the president cannot be held to federal and international rules prohibiting torture. Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft refused to turn over the documents or say whether President Bush has authorized force or other techniques in interrogation. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

A group of American human rights lawyers is suing two U.S. civilian contracting companies, saying the contractors conspired to torture detainees in U.S.-run prisons in Iraq. The lawyers say both the contractors and the government were involved in a "torture conspiracy" and should be prosecuted. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

A group claiming ties to al Qaeda beheads U.S. hostage Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia. The 49-year-old engineer, an employee of Lockheed Martin working on Apache attack helicopter systems in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh, was taken hostage last weekend. His captors warned they would kill him unless al Qaeda suspects were released from jail. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Knight Ridder correspondent Dave Montgomery.

The war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic is thrown in doubt over reports of Milosevic's worsening health. The trial, already two years old, has faced many delays, as Milosevic, acting as his own lawyer, has required many concessions over his health. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports.

The United Nations appeals for more help for Sudanese refugees, who have fled into the desert in neighboring Chad to escape civil war and persecution by government-backed militias. The humanitarian crisis is severe and likely to be made far worse by the approaching rainy season. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Dr. Jennifer Leaning, professor of international health at Harvard.

Iraqi Kurds send a letter to President Bush expressing concerns over the country's new leadership and threatening to withdraw from the interim government. The minority Kurds say they are not adequately represented in the body. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and Ambassador Peter Galbraith of the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation.

Confusion and miscommunication reigned on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, as civilian and military air controllers tried to cope with four airliners hijacked by terrorists. Today, the memories were all too vivid as the bipartisan commission investigating those terror attacks replayed the events minute by minute, with chilling conclusions. Hear NPR's Larry Abramson.

American support for the war in Iraq is stronger now than it was a month ago, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. The poll's findings also show an improvement in President Bush's standing over the past month. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center.

A staff report delivered to the bipartisan commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks finds "no credible evidence" that Saddam Hussein cooperated with al Qaeda in those attacks. The staff report said Osama bin Laden contacted the Iraqi government about gaining support from that country but had been rebuffed. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

Some state lawmakers are working to deter residents from seeking abortions elsewhere, or to punish those who help them do so. Delivery of abortion medication by mail could become another battleground.