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Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vows to maintain his country's participation in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, despite the execution of an Italian hostage by Iraqi militants. The militants are threatening to kill three other Italian hostages seized this week if Italian troops aren't withdrawn. Hear NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

President George Bush's re-election campaign begins running hard-edged ads against likely Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry, with the election eight months away. Analysts are divided on the effectiveness of negative campaign ads, saying they lower voter turnout. NPR's Don Gonyea reports. Hear NPR's Elizabeth Blair.

Some 2,500 U.S. troops remain deployed on the outskirts of the Shiite Muslim holy city of Najaf, where radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is holed up. Iraqi and Iranian officials are meeting with Sadr in hopes of averting a full-scale assault on Najaf. NPR's Melissa Block talks with NPR's Philip Reeves.

With New York's Times Square set to mark its 100th anniversary this month, writer James Traub releases The Devil’s Playground, the story of how this mercurial district became one of the most famous and exciting places in the world. Hear NPR's Howard Berkes and Traub.

Security and insurance costs are driving up the price of rebuilding Iraq, according to contractors. An official with the Coalition Provisional Authority told Congress this week that security costs now represent at least 10 percent of the total contract amounts awarded. The official's report warns that more cash might be needed to finish the job. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports.

Fallujah, the site of gruesome attacks on four U.S. civilian contractors Wednesday, has a long and bloody history. Experts on the area say they are not surprised by the violence of this week's attacks. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Rashid Khalidi, director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh tells the Sept. 11 panel that, given limited resources and legal authority, his agency did everything it could to fight terror prior to the 2001 attacks. The commission releases documents showing Attorney General John Ashcroft rejected an FBI request for more money on Sept. 10, 2001, and that fighting terror was not a Justice Department priority prior to Sept. 11. Hear NPR's Pam Fessler.

Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's chief national security adviser, will appear Thursday before the Sept. 11 commission. Rice will testify under oath for the first time. She met privately with panel members in February. This appearance follows questions raised by others who have testified before the commission. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

Negotiations continue to end the fighting between U.S. Marines and insurgents in Fallujah. U.S. forces have besieged the Sunni stronghold after the killing and mutilation of four U.S. security contractors there last month. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and Washington Post correspondent Karl Vick.

Sen. John Kerry has all but secured the Democratic Party's nomination for president, but rival U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio continues campaigning. Kucinich says he's staying in the race to keep certain issues alive within the party: universal health care, trade reform and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Kucinich speaks with NPR's Bob Edwards.