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European Union representatives hold an emergency meeting in Brussels, Belgium, to consider ways to prevent terrorist attacks in the wake of last week's deadly bombings in Spain. EU ministers support speeding up the use of biometric identifiers on passports and visas, and tentatively agree to appoint a special coordinator to oversee its various counterterrorism efforts. NPR's Emily Harris reports.

Rocket-propelled grenades fired at a hotel and nearby store in downtown Baghdad cause structural damage but no reported injuries. Earlier, in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, a car bomb outside a popular hotel killed at least four people and left several others wounded. The blast came less than 24 hours after a massive car bomb attack in Baghdad. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

The worsening security situation in Iraq has prompted U.S. military commanders to prepare contingency plans for sending additional troops to the country. U.S. commanders have not requested additional forces, but they are considering whether more troops trained in rapid-response techniques are needed. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

Shiite militias take partial control of the southern Iraqi cities of Kut, Najaf and Karbala. Intense fighting continues in Fallujah, where local hospitals say as many as 280 Iraqis have died since the U.S. assault on the Sunni stronghold began Monday. Gunmen kidnap three Japanese and eight South Korean civilians. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

Five British citizens are released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. U.S. officials also revealed the evidence collected against the remaining four British prisoners at Guantanamo, in an effort to counter pressure from the prisoners' families to release those detainees as well. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and David Rennie of London's Daily Telegraph.

A judge in Chesapeake, Va., sentences convicted sniper Lee Boyd Malvo to life in prison without parole. Malvo was implicated in 10 killings that terrorized the Washington, D.C. area in 2002. Malvo's accomplice, John Allen Muhammad, was sentenced to death Tuesday for another shooting. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR's Brian Naylor.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry wins Democratic presidential contests in Idaho, Utah and Hawaii, strengthening his lead in the race for the party's nomination. North Carolina Sen. John Edwards finishes a distant second in Utah and Idaho and comes in third in Hawaii, behind Kerry and Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR's Brian Naylor.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair labels as "deeply irresponsible" allegations that U.K. intelligence agents spied on U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Former Blair cabinet minister Clare Short told the BBC she read transcripts of secretly recorded conversations Annan had at the United Nations prior to the war in Iraq. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and the BBC's David Bamford.

Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader seeks to ease Democrats' concerns that he will distract voters from their efforts to unseat President George Bush. Political analysts are debating what effect Nader could have in swing states like Oregon and Florida. Hear NPR's Michele Norris, the University of South Florida's Susan MacManus and Robert Eisenger of Lewis and Clark College in Portland.

Sen. John Kerry wins the Wisconsin primary, beating second-place finisher Sen. John Edwards by six percentage points. Howard Dean is a distant third. Edwards' strong finish bolsters his argument that this is now a two-man race, as Democrats prepare for a flurry of contests in early March. Hear NPR's Scott Horsley.