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The House Judiciary Committee holds hearings on the "Downing Street Memo," notes that suggest the Bush administration decided to invade Iraq months before the conflict began. The memo is from a meeting of British Prime Minister Tony Blair with his aides in July 2002.

The Department of Energy has been quietly working on a grand plan for nuclear power to be included in next year's budget. Ideas for the Global Nuclear Energy Initiative include reprocessing nuclear fuel so it can be re-used in reactors -- a process the United States abandoned earlier.

A new set of documents from Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito contains his argument that executive-branch officials have immunity when ordering domestic wiretaps in violation of the law. Other documents from his years at the Justice Department reveal a restrictive position on racial discrimination.

The Bush administration thinks it might have a treasure trove of information about al Qaeda following the Saturday arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. He's allegedly the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and a man long sought by the United States. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports, and NPR's Melissa Block talks with Tim McGirk who's following the story for Time Magazine.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani says he will accept a caucus-elected government in July if the United Nations guarantees direct elections will be held in Iraq by 2005. Sistani, Iraq's most prominent Shiite cleric, had previously insisted that elections take place by June 30, the date targeted by the United States for a transfer of power to an Iraqi government. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets with President Bush Friday. British officials say Blair hopes to flesh out a role for the United Nations in Iraq's transition. Blair has faced criticism at home for having little influence when it comes to Iraq -- despite Britain's 10,000 troops there. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham says he is considering major security reforms at the nation's nuclear weapons facilities -- including creation of a new federal police force and consolidation of stocks of plutonium and uranium. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, critics have questioned whether such facilities are sufficiently protected against terrorism. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.

The Bush administration is trying to ease the mounting tensions between Russia and the former Soviet republic of Georgia, exhorting Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili to show restraint during meetings in Washington. Georgia is trying to re-assert control over two breakaway regions, where Russia has aided separatists. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

The Justice Department asks a federal judge to throw out the terror convictions of a group of Detroit men who Attorney General John Ashcroft had portrayed as an al Qaeda sleeper cell. The department says its own prosecutors made enough mistakes to warrant a new trial, on charges of document fraud. NPR's Libby Lewis reports.

The United Nations appeals for more help for Sudanese refugees, who have fled into the desert in neighboring Chad to escape civil war and persecution by government-backed militias. The humanitarian crisis is severe and likely to be made far worse by the approaching rainy season. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Dr. Jennifer Leaning, professor of international health at Harvard.