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In an exclusive interview with NPR, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff talks about agency plans to tighten the southern U.S. border and ending the "catch and release" policy. The policy of releasing illegal immigrants has been criticized as a potential way for terrorists to enter the country.

New figures from the Census Bureau show that Hispanics accounted for about half the population growth in the U.S. last year. Births have now overtaken immigration this decade as the largest source of Hispanic growth. One region where the trend is well illustrated is Cook County, including Chicago.

The ostrich-like bird, native to South America, escaped from a farm in Nottinghamshire last week.

The White House has plans for a bombing campaign that might lead to regime change in Iran, according to an article by Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker magazine. The article, "The Iran Plans" quotes sources at the Pentagon. President Bush called the story "wildly speculative."

Two civil liberties groups file lawsuits against the Bush administration, charging the government's domestic eavesdropping program is illegal and unconstitutional. The suits say the program has had a chilling effect on free speech, and the groups are seeking a court injunction to shut down the effort.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says rising energy costs have trimmed economic growth by about three-quarters of a percentage point in 2004. Higher fuel prices could mean a struggle this winter among Americans who use oil to heat their homes. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

At a Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the overnight missile strike near Baghdad hit a "senior Iraqi leadership compound." And he says there are reports the Iraqi regime may have set fire to three or four oil wells in southern Iraq. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

Pentagon officials say they're starting to see a breakdown among Republican Guard forces outside Baghdad as ground battles and heavy airstrikes take their toll. The Pentagon also raises the possibility that Saddam Hussein is dead or in flight. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden.

The White House denies it had advance knowledge of Israel's plan to kill Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, which has threatened to retaliate against Israel and the United States. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice points to signs of progress in the Mideast peace process, despite Yassin's killing. Hear NPR's Vicky O'Hara.

New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is meeting with President Bush en route to a stop at the United Nations. His first month in office has seen terrorist attacks, widespread flooding and change on the global political scene.