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A 9-year-old boy wounded in a bombing attack in Iraq a few years ago is now in Southern California, ending a years-long struggle by a Hollywood screenwriter and other Americans to get the boy and his mother out of the country. Mostafa's odyssey began four years ago, when his neighborhood was hit by a U.S. cruise missile that strayed off course. NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports -- see Mostafa's photo, and learn more about the Americans who helped him.

Fifty years ago this week, a paper in the British science journal Nature described the structure of DNA. This discovery kicked off a revolution in biology that brought with it fear as well as excitement. The ability to tinker with genes raised the specter of monster organisms that might threaten the world. As NPR's Joe Palca reports, back then it was scientists who took the lead in resolving such issues, but today it may not be researchers who get to choose how controversial science progresses.

U.S. forces in Baghdad hope to gather useful information from the capture of one of Saddam Hussein's half-brothers. He once headed Iraq's secret police and ran Iraqi intelligence operations in Europe. Meanwhile, looting continues, and the question many people are asking is "Who's in charge?" Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden and NPR's Jackie Northam.

Living conditions remain grim in Baghdad, where many places still are without power, and there's a shortage of clean water. At many hospitals, staff are not showing up to care for the patients, and doctors and nurses want more security. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Roland Huguenin-Benjamin of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

What if the notion that the world's people can be divided biologically along racial lines was proven to be a myth -- a social construct that has no basis in science? A three-part PBS documentary series, Race: The Power of an Illusion, tackles the thorny issue of race, biology and how the legacy of racial preferences still permeate U.S. society, 40 years after the Civil Rights Act. All Things Considered host Michele Norris reports.

A former Iraqi spy chief accused of plotting to assassinate President George H. W. Bush in the early 1990s is now in U.S. hands. A day earlier, U.S. forces took custody of Tariq Aziz, a longtime spokesman for the Iraqi regime. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards.

American forces are holding an estimated 7,000 Iraqi prisoners of war, including more than 30 captured Friday in a fresh battle north of Baghdad. Hundreds more Iraqis taken prisoner have been released because they were not soldiers. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new novel “The Wife”(Scribner) by Meg Wolitzer.

Writer, actor, director, comedian and host of Le Show, Harry Shearer. He's starring in the new folk music mockumentary A Mighty Wind, directed by Christopher Guest, who also directed Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman. Shearer also starred with Guest in the classic heavy metal parody This is Spinal Tap. Shearer's public radio show is now in its 19th year.

Some lawyers and economists estimate that Iraq's foreign debt tops $100 billion. Some economists say much of the debt should be forgiven so Iraqis can rebuild their nation all the faster. But creditor-nations likely would balk at sweeping debt forgiveness. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.