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High-ranking Pentagon officials will appear Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. They've been asked to explain U.S. military strategy and operations in Iraq as the death toll rises and Americans' support for the war, as expressed in polls, continues to drop.

Struggling automaker General Motors announces plans to close nine factories and eliminate 30,000 jobs. The cuts are part of a long-awaited restructuring plan by the world's No. 1 car manufacturer. The United Auto Workers said the cuts would make ongoing talks with the company more difficult.

Iranian officials have said that nearly yearlong negotiations over its nuclear program with France, Germany and Great Britain are near collapse. Tehran warns this could lead to resumption of uranium-enrichment efforts, a step the United States has warned Iran not to take.

Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff tells Steve Inskeep about the department's difficult mandate to protect all places at all times against an unpredictable enemy. Chertoff says the department relies on controversial risk analysis to determine where to invest its resources.

President Bush used a speech in Morgantown, W.V., to rally support for U.S. efforts in Iraq. In the speech, the president said the U.S. presence there must continue, despite an increase in suicide attacks and roadside bombings.

L. Patrick Gray, whose brief stint as acting FBI director was marked by the Watergate break-in, has died. Gray was 88. Recently Gray said he felt betrayed by his deputy, W. Mark Felt, who acted as a source for stories in The Washington Post about the burglary of the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate complex.

The crew carries much-needed supplies to the International Space Station. They'll also be testing modifications made after the Columbia disaster two and half years ago. The launch was scrubbed two weeks ago because of a problem with a fuel sensor system.

As the Republican National Convention opens, featured speakers Sen. John McCain and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani laud President Bush's leadership in the war on terrorism. Both draw links between that effort and the Iraq war.

A car bomb explodes in Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul, killing at least seven people. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the blast. The violence is reportedly part of a stepped-up pattern of attacks in the weeks leading up to Afghanistan's October elections. NPR's Jennifer Ludden talks to Pamela Constable of The Washington Post.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi says Iraq is on track to hold elections in January. But U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicts continuing violence and said some areas may be too dangerous to permit voting. Hear NPR's Michele Kelemen.