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All Things Considered guest host John Ydstie talks to NPR's Anne Garrels about the situation inside Baghdad, where electricity and phone service are cut off. Garrels reports that her movements are very limited because of a curfew, but she can hear explosions, shelling and missiles in the western part of the city, closest to Baghdad Airport.

The nightmare of urban warfare comes true as U.S. forces battle pockets of resistance in Baghdad. An American armored column invades a presidential palace, daylight hours are filled with sounds of bombs, artillery and automatic gunfire which quiet toward night. Electricity and phones are out. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.

Baghdad looters continue to comb through official buildings and empty a museum of priceless antiquities. U.S. forces decline to adopt much of a security role, but may begin to patrol with Iraqis who are demanding order be restored. In some neighborhoods, people take the law into their own hands. Hear NPR's John Ydstie and NPR's Anne Garrels.

In Baghdad, security forces desert the streets, replaced by looters, and government officials have disappeared. Hundreds of Iraqi civilians take to the streets, cheering U.S. soldiers and ripping up posters of Saddam Hussein. And with the help of a U.S. Marine vehicle, a crowd of Iraqi citizens topples a giant statue of the Iraqi leader. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

As looting and lawlessness continue in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, U.S. forces call on former policemen to return to their jobs. Days of looting have left the population feeling scared and vulnerable, leading some residents to take the law into their own hands. Hear NPR's Jackie Northam.

U.S. humanitarian groups seeking to send food, water and medicine to Iraq step up fundraising campaigns after finding mixed results in gathering donations so far. Aid groups say clean water is the priority -- and they're encouraged by a relatively low number of refugees. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports.

U.S. forces consolidate their hold over Baghdad, but continue to engage in sporadic clashes with forces loyal to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. At least one Marine is reported killed and almost 20 wounded after a three-hour battle to seize a presidential palace. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

The Bush administration says the war in Iraq has cost $20 billion already, and will require another $20 billion over the next five months. The Pentagon cautions there are variables in the long-term costs. Even so, the estimate is less than private analysts and economists had predicted. NPR's Jack Speer reports.

Efforts to gather a new goverment are under way in Iraq, but the process is slowed by the diversity of competing interests. Shia leaders were absent from a meeting in Nasiriyah this week, saying they wouldn't take part in talks led by the U.S. military. Hear NPR's Linda Wertheimer and NPR's Mike Shuster.

Canadian health officials take steps to prevent the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, after 13 deaths and more than 300 probable cases. In Toronto, churches are being asked to alter centuries-old rituals beginning with Easter weekend services. NPR's Vicky Que reports.