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The commission probing the Sept. 11 attacks hears from both Bush and Clinton administration officials Tuesday. The panel wants to know what was done in response to previous attacks and how to deal with the growing terrorist threat. The hearings come as a former White House official alleges the Bush administration ignored warnings about al Qaeda. Hear NPR's Pam Fessler.

Reports of detainee abuses in Iraq have focused on Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad. But now, a Canadian civilian has filed a lawsuit claiming he was tortured by U.S. troops at the Camp Bucca detention center in southern Iraq, and witnessed the abuse of other prisoners. Camp Bucca officials deny abuses ever took place. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

A top Vatican official says Catholic politicians who favor abortion rights for women should be denied communion, the most sacred act of faith for Catholics. The proposed Vatican policy could affect Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, a Catholic who supports abortion rights. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and John Feuerherd of The National Catholic Reporter.

This week, the Sept. 11 panel hears testimony from former FBI Director Louis Freeh, former Attorney General Janet Reno, Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller. Their testimony comes as representatives of several other agencies have blamed the FBI for not alerting the government to the possibility of attack. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR News Analyst Cokie Roberts.

A Chicago jury convicts white supremacist Matthew Hale for soliciting the murder of a federal judge, ending three days of deliberations. Hale, who several years ago called for a "racial holy war," had conspired to have a U.S. district judge killed after she ordered him to stop using the trademarked name World Church of the Creator. Chicago Public Radio's Melba Lara reports.

A group of leading Shiite clerics are holding talks to resolve the U.S. standoff with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose anti-American rhetoric touched off a wave of attacks on U.S.-led forces in several Iraqi cities. Al-Sadr's militiamen have withdrawn from police and government buildings they had occupied, but the security situation remains unstable. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

Negotiations to ease the crisis in Fallujah produce a ceasefire that provides amnesty for insurgents who disarm and refrain from future attacks, but U.S. forces remain poised to strike the Iraqi city if the pact fails. Officials from Fallujah, U.S. authorities and the Iraqi Governing Council met over the past three days in an effort to end the standoff. NPR's Emily Harris reports.

Over several years in the 1990s, U.S. forces had an idea of Osama bin Laden's whereabouts but did not attack because of doubts about the accuracy of intelligence, according to testimony and documents gathered by the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks. Officials involved were also reportedly concerned about killing innocent bystanders. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports.

Former counter-terrorism czar Richard Clarke's assertions that the Bush administration downplayed the threat presented by al Qaeda before Sept. 11, 2001, spark debate over national security. Critics of Clarke, who testified this week before the Sept. 11 panel in Washington, say he is merely promoting his book, Against All Enemies. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and Dana Milbank of The Washington Post.

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.