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Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld tells the Senate Armed Services Committee he extends his "deepest apology" and takes "full responsibility" for the abuse of Iraqi prisoners in U.S. custody. Rumsfeld says an investigation into U.S. soldiers' conduct is underway. Some senators question whether people higher up in the chain of command should be held responsible. Hear NPR News.

Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Andrea Seabrook about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's appearance before Congress in which he took full responsibility for the scandal surrounding abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

Appearing on Capitol Hill Friday before both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld took responsibility for what he called breakdowns in the military that resulted in abuse of prisoners in Iraq. He added he wished he had told members of Congress sooner about pictures of prisoner abuse -- but he said his department had initiated proper procedures to deal with those responsible. NPR's David Welna reports.

NPR's Art Silverman gets reaction to photos of grinning reservists abusing Iraqi prisoners from residents of Cumberland, Md. Six soldiers from the 99th Regional Readiness Command 372nd Military Police Company (Combat Support), based in Cumberland, were charged in March with physical and sexual abuse of 20 prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad. Three of those charged are local residents -- and people who know the three say the charges are out of character.

The commander of U.S. detention facilities in Iraq says there are no plans to shut down Abu Ghraib prison, where U.S. guards were photographed abusing Iraqi prisoners. NPR's Eric Westervelt visits the prison, where military officials are working to improve conditions.

President George Bush strongly supports Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to keep control of some settlements as Israel pulls out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank, setting a new tone in U.S. Mideast policy. Previous U.S.-brokered peace deals have required the removal of all settlements. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and Samuel Lewis, former ambassador to Israel.

Over 250 years after the end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, some West Africans are still trying to come to terms with the involvement of African rulers and slave merchants. For National Geographic's Radio Expeditions, NPR's John Burnett reports from Benin.

Kyle Smith is book and music review editor at People Magazine. He's making his debut as a novelist with the new book Love Monkey. It's about a 32-year-old New Yorker who dares to be "average" and whose credo is to "think and act like a 13-year-old boy at all times." Smith is also a Yale graduate and a Gulf War veteran.

If the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on abortion remains unchanged, what are the nationwide implications? We hear how things might change in Mississippi and California.

A Chicago jury convicts white supremacist Matthew Hale for soliciting the murder of a federal judge, ending three days of deliberations. Hale, who several years ago called for a "racial holy war," had conspired to have a U.S. district judge killed after she ordered him to stop using the trademarked name World Church of the Creator. Chicago Public Radio's Melba Lara reports.