Search results for

Iraqis in the holy city of Najaf denounce U.S. support for an interim Sunni Muslim mayor and call for immediate elections. Najaf is home to a shrine sacred to Shia Muslims, who make up a majority of the country's population. American administrators, who have delayed elections twice, say they need more time to organize a legal vote. Hear NPR's Nick Spicer.

Soldiers with the Army's 101st Airborne Division discover what they believe to be an Iraqi storage site for chemical warheads, U.S. commander says. Describing the discovery as a potential "smoking gun," the official says soldiers found in a warehouse outside Baghdad about 20 medium-range rockets with warheads containing sarin and mustard gases. Hear NPR's John Burnett.

During a rare primetime news conference, President Bush pledges the United States will commit the time and forces needed to finish its work in Iraq. Bush reaffirmed plans to transfer governing power to Iraqis on June 30, saying a delay would foster suspicions of U.S. motives in the region. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says his nation's intelligence services gave the Bush administration information after the September 11 terror attacks that suggested Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq was planning to strike against the United States. Nonetheless, Russia remained adamantly opposed to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. NPR's Lawrence Sheets reports from Moscow.

A new wave of fighting breaks out between supporters of a radical Shiite cleric and U.S. and Iraqi government forces. Clashes are reported throughout southern Iraq and the Shiite-dominated Baghdad slum known as Sadr City. An American military spokesman says 300 Shiite militiamen were killed in one city alone. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

U.S. warplanes strike a suspected safehouse of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Fallujah. Bombs created a 30-foot crater and killed at least 10 people, including women and children, according to Iraqi witnesses. Meanwhile, three Marines are killed in a guerrilla attack in Anbar province. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

General Motors reported a loss of $722 million for the last three months of 2007. Still, that was better than many analysts expected, and GM shares rose slightly as trading opened. GM also announced an expanded buyout program for UAW members. But what might happen to GM this year — as the U.S. economy slows?

A U.S. government plan to restore confidence in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would temporarily raise the Treasury Department's credit line to the two mortgage financiers. The idea is to shore up the companies' finances and keep money flowing to the mortgage market. What does this mean for mortgage holders and taxpayers?

Singer-songwriter Lee Greenwood talks about his 1984 hit "God Bless the U.S.A." Now 75 and still touring, Greenwood had lived a whole career before he wrote the song that would come to define him.

The International Gymnastics Federation asks U.S. gymnast Paul Hamm to give his Olympic all-around gold medal to South Korea's Yang Tae-young. Yang lost the gold due to a scoring error, but FIG refused to change the final scores. Hear NPR's Alex Chadwick and NPR's Howard Berkes.