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At the 77th annual Academy Awards, director Martin Scorsese's The Aviator won the most Oscars -- five, but Clint Eastwood's film Million Dollar Baby took prizes for best picture, best director, best supporting actor, Morgan Freeman, and best actress, Hilary Swank. Jamie Foxx won the Oscar as best actor for his portrayal of Ray Charles in Ray.

Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry barnstorms through Midwestern states. At some stops, he's made time to meet with small groups still trying to fill out a picture of the candidate from Massachusetts.

The Senate Intelligence Committee hears testimony about reforming U.S. intelligence services, weeks after it released a report criticizing the agencies. Committee chairman Pat Roberts said the hearings were the beginning of a major re-examination of how the CIA and other intelligence organizations should work. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.

U.S. troops and Iraqi forces storm into the center of Najaf in what Marine commanders are calling a final push to crush a rebellion by supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. The cleric and hundreds of his followers are believed to be inside the Imam Ali shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Ivan Watson.

Tropical Storm Frances makes its second landfall in Florida, churning into the state's panhandle with an expected 10 inches of rain and 65 miles-an-hour wind. Over the weekend, the storm plowed into Florida's Atlantic coast as a category two hurricane. More than 6 million people lost electricity as powerful winds and rain knocked down trees and damaged homes and boats. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

Speeches at the Republican Convention portray President Bush as a strong wartime leader. After Sen. John McCain made the case for war in Iraq, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani assailed Bush's opponent, Sen. John Kerry. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Robert Smith.

The Supreme Court decides to consider the constitutionality of federal sentencing guidelines. The court agreed to fast-track the case, since a related ruling this summer about state sentencing guidelines threw courts across the country into confusion. At issue is the power of judges to single-handedly adjust the length of criminals' sentences. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Douglas Berman, professor at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University

Former Vice President Al Gore speaks on the opening night of the 2004 Democratic Convention, four years after his run against President Bush. Gore urged Democrats to remember the power of the ballot in the close 2000 election. Hear NPR's David Welna.

Sen. John Kerry seeks to define his campaign by his combat experience in the Vietnam War -- a tour of duty that earned him three Purple Hearts and a Bronze and Silver star for valor. But Kerry's campaign has come under fire by a group of GOP-linked activists who question his wartime conduct in a television ad. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

The highest-ranking soldier charged in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal is sentenced to eight years in prison for abusing inmates. Staff Sgt. Ivan "Chip" Frederick pleaded guilty Wednesday to eight counts of abusing and humiliating Iraqi detainees. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.