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Members of Iraq's Coalition Provisional Authority on Friday unanimously choose Iyad Allawi to be the prime minister of the interim government that will take office on July 1, 2004. U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi welcomes the move, but a U.S. spokesman indicates the selection is not yet final. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Baghdad.

A day-long hostage standoff in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, ends as government commandos storm a resort building, freeing dozens of hostages and leaving several dead, including an American. Gunmen had taken between 45 and 60 hostages during attacks in the heart of the kingdom's oil region Saturday. An al Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and Thomas Lippman of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

Research shows that teachers with degrees in the subjects they teach are more successful. But people with math degrees are often poor math teachers. Experts say the best instructors are those that can untangle where students went wrong. Robert Frederick reports.

Commentator Ruth Stonesifer is the mother of one of the first Americans to die in Afghanistan. On Memorial Day, she describes her membership in the Gold Star Mothers, the 75-year-old organization of mothers of American troops who died in the line of duty.

The rock band Wilco's latest CD, A Ghost is Born, was recorded during the lead singer's battle with an addiction to painkillers, among other distractions. Many of the Chicago group's songs reflect this tense and hallucinatory period in the singer's life. Critic Tom Moon has a review.

A national advertising offensive sponsored by a group known as the National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) is drawing fire from those who think it insults black fathers -- especially those prevented by court order from playing a role in their children's lives. The ad campaign is heating up as we draw closer to Father's Day. NPR's Tavis Smiley speaks with the head of the NFI and a man who leads a father's rights group.

Artist Jill Magid inscribed pennies with "The body was already so fragile" — and now brings a film of the process to Brooklyn, giving people a chance to reflect on the pandemic.

Members of the commission investigating the U.S. government's response to terrorism before and after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, are calling on Vice President Dick Cheney to provide any information the administration may have supporting its continued claim of links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. Hear NPR's Andrea Seabrook and NPR's Linda Wertheimer.

The Bush administration defends its credibility, after the Sept. 11 commission finds "no credible evidence" that Iraq helped al Qaeda in the 2001 attacks on the United States. In recent TV appearances, Vice President Cheney has suggested he may have information supporting an al Qaeda-Iraq link not available to the panel. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne and NPR's Juan Williams.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government launched Al Hurra, an Arabic-language news and information channel that broadcasts to the Middle East and North Africa. The channel has gained some fans, but still struggles to dispel the notion that it is a U.S. propaganda outlet. Hear NPR's Steve Inkseep.