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A U.S. military official tells the Reuters news service that some fighters detained after recent clashes in Iraq may be tied to al Qaeda. But clear evidence of involvement by the terrorist cell has yet to emerge. At least 40 U.S. soldiers have died in sporadic attacks since May 1. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

The Federal Reserve is expected to ask the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to produce 100 million copies of the $2 bill within the next year. The government hasn't printed the currency in seven years and is slowly running out. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Wisconsin health officials are investigating at least three possible cases of human-to-human infection of monkeypox. If confirmed, they would be the first cases of person-to-person spread of the disease in the United States. The U.S. outbreak of the disease has so far involved people who got infected from pets. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

Pink Martini's debut album, Sympathique, has been selling steadily, racking up a respectable 600,000 sales in the five years since its release. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports on the pressures on the band and its charismatic leader Thomas Lauderdale to avoid the sophomore curse of a second release that doesn't live up to the first.

NPR's Ivan Watson in Baghdad reports on American efforts to deal with the mound of trash that has accumulated in the Iraqi capital since the end of the war in April. An American from the U.S. Corps of Engineers is in charge of waste disposal now, and he's dubbed himself "Mr. Garbage."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends smallpox vaccinations for people exposed to monkeypox, a similar disease transmitted from some animals to humans. And officials ban sales of prairie dogs and imports of six species of African rodents tied to the spread of the disease. Hear NPR's Richard Knox.

Mississippi is a much-changed place since civil rights pioneer Medgar Evers was murdered there 40 years ago this week. The civil rights leader refused to leave the state he loved. He believed conditions would improve. And now his state leads the nation in the number of black elected officials. NPR's Melanies Peoples reports from the county where Evers grew up.

Babies' babbling is the stuff of scientific study. Writing in the current issue of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers have discovered that babies change and improve their babbling sounds in rapid response to affectionate behaviors from their mothers. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports.

In the second of a four-part series on Wal-Mart, NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports on the lengths to which some vendors will go in order to maintain a relationship with the retail giant.

For decades, money and ambition have formed the central ethos of Hong Kong. But SARS was such a blow to the city that many people there are pausing to think about what really matters. NPR's Rob Gifford reports that volunteerism is up, at least for now, in a kinder, gentler Hong Kong.