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In a speech to the nation, President Bush says he will "spend what is necessary" to win the war on terror, and says he will ask Congress for $87 billion over the next year to help pay for Iraq's reconstruction. The president also asks for more international help in Iraq, but makes it clear he will not relinquish U.S. control there. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea and NPR's Nick Spicer.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan says the United Nations will remain in Iraq, despite an attack on its headquarters in Baghdad that killed its top envoy and at least 20 others. Analysts say the bombing may signal a shift in tactics by groups opposed to the American occupation of Iraq, with attackers now targeting civilians. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson and NPR's Eric Westervelt.

The former deputy president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, has been acquitted of rape. A judge in Johannesburg declared that the alleged victim's version of what happened on the night of Nov. 2 last year was not credible.

The Nobel Foundation announces that an environmental and political activist from Kenya has won the 2004 Nobel Peace prize. Wangari Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977. She recently gained notice for a campaign to plant 30 million trees to combat deforestation. NPR's Renee Montagne talks to NPR's Jason Beaubien.

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.

When Liberia President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was an infant, her family was told she would become a great woman. But assuring words, unfortunately, were not enough to shield Africa's first woman president from a life of hardship, which included an abusive marriage.

The Supreme Court hears arguments on the constitutionality of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act. The court had struck down a previous version of the measure on the grounds that it did not allow for doctors to use procedures they thought necessary to protect a woman's health.

President Bush says the death of al-Qaida leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq is "a severe blow" to the al-Qaida terrorist network and a decisive victory in the U.S.-led war against terrorism.

Conditions are worsening in Myanmar as hungry survivors wait among the dead for help after a huge cyclone hit the Southeast Asian nation over the weekend. The top U.S. diplomat in the country is predicting that the death toll could rise as high as 100,000, from the official tally of 22,500.

The First Amendment outlines five freedoms that Americans are guaranteed. Sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how complicated it can be. Find out more in Throughline’s history quiz.