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Insurgents in Tikrit kill 17 Iraqis who worked for the U.S. Army. In all, more than 40 Iraqis have been killed in the past two days. The U.S. embassy says attacks on the road to Baghdad's airport remain commonplace. NPR's Mike Shuster reports.

More than 70 people -- the vast majority Iraqis -- have died at the hands of insurgents in Iraq in the past three days. In one incident, gunmen ambushed a bus carrying unarmed Iraqi contractors employed by American forces. Seventeen died. Hear NPR's Mike Shuster.

President Bush orders the CIA to increase by 50 percent the number of CIA analysts and spies. The order also calls for a doubling of the number of CIA officers proficient in critical languages such as Arabic. The agency has 90 days to come up with a budget and a plan. Hear NPR's Mary Louise Kelly and NPR's Renee Montagne.

Fannie Mae's Franklin Raines retires as CEO, and Timothy Howard resigns as CFO of the mortgage giant. This comes a few weeks after the Securities and Exchange Commission told Fannie Mae to restate its earnings, which could force the company to record a loss of as much as $9 billion. Hear NPR's Jack Speer.

This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be split by two scientists from the Israel Institute of Technology and an American from the University of California, Irvine. They discovered how living cells carefully select the materials inside them that need to be broken down and recycled. NPR's Renee Montagne talks to NPR's Richard Harris.

For the second time in a week, the House ethics committee rebukes Rep. Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, for questionable conduct. It also warned the Texas Republican to temper his behavior. The panel criticized DeLay for conduct that appeared to link political donations to legislation. Hear NPR's Andrea Seabrook.

Two Italian aid workers are released by their captors after being kidnapped and held hostage for three weeks. The women, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, were handed over to the Red Cross along with two Iraqi workers who were held with them. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports.

A privately financed craft succeeds in taking a pilot into space for the second time in less than two weeks. In doing so, SpaceShipOne wins the so-called X-Prize of $10 million for the team funded by Paul Allen, a founder of Microsoft. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.

The top U.S. commander in northern Iraq says that this week's deadly attack on a U.S. base near the city of Mosul may have been the work of a suicide bomber wearing an Iraqi military uniform. Brig. Gen. Carter Ham says he is concerned the attack's success may encourage similar attempts. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

U.S. and Iraqi forces move against insurgents in the area known as the "triangle of death," south of Baghdad. U.S. commanders say they need to press into neighborhoods where rebels have taken refuge. Iraq's defense minister has signaled that another offensive is planned for the capital itself. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.