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Comets are known as the icy bodies of the solar system. But new analysis of dust brought back by a space probe shows comets are also made up of minerals forged by fire.

Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, testified for the first time on Wednesday at his trial in Baghdad. He called the proceedings a "comedy." The judge closed the session to the public when Saddam refused to follow orders.

Residents of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward were allowed to return to their homes Thursday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina hit. Residents were permitted to stay for the day and had to leave by sundown.

Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) has said that in calling for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, he is passing on the views of military personnel. People on all sides of the debate in Iraq say the military is with them. But verifying such claims can be difficult, since troops are supposed to avoid direct involvement in political debates.

John Taylor writes about the formative days of the National Basketball Associaton in The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and the Golden Age of Basketball.

Saddam Hussein takes the stand and launches into a political speech, praising the insurgency and urging Iraqis to halt sectarian violence. Reporters are ordered out of the chamber when Saddam ignores the judge's orders to confine his statements to the charges against him.

In recent years, there has been increasing speculation that the Vatican is preparing to establish diplomatic relations with China. But China's 12 million Catholics are often still caught between the Church and the state.

President Bush is scheduled to make speeches reaffirming his administration's belief in the practice of pre-emptive war. In 2002, Father Richard John Neuhaus, president of the Institute on Religion and Public Life, talked with NPR about the doctrine. He revisits the topic with Michele Norris.

When troops stationed in Iraq and elsewhere overseas watch the Super Bowl on TV, they don't see the commercials that everyone else does. Instead, they see taped messages recorded by players during the mayhem of Super Bowl media day.

Okkervil River is a body of water near St. Petersburg in Russia. It's also the name of a band based in Austin, Texas. Its songwriter and singer draws from the primal violence heard in some traditional folk tunes and the blues.