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Secretary of State Colin Powell is among the senior officials set to testify at public hearings on the Sept. 11 attacks Tuesday. The White House has called false the claims made by former terrorism official Richard Clarke that the Bush administration focused on Iraq rather than al Qaeda after the terrorist attacks of 2001. Hear NPR's Pam Fessler and NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.

Critic Tom Manoff has discovered 17th-century Italy and the music of Anno 1630. In the project, three musicians take the music of little-known composers from the early Renaissance period and perform it, using an ancient newly refurbished organ, harp and violin. The CD Anno 1630 is on the Winter and Winter label.

Former counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke tells the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks that the Bush administration ignored his proposals to take aggressive action against al Qaeda in the months before the attacks. The White House denies Clarke's charges, and says it was developing its own anti-terrorism strategy at the time of the attacks. Hear NPR's Pam Fessler.

Richard Clarke, who served as the top White House counter-terrorism official under three presidents, says George W. Bush's administration did not consider terrorist threats to be urgent in its first seven months, despite Clarke's urgings. Speaking on Capitol Hill to a national commission investigating U.S. policies before Sept. 11, 2001, Clark said terrorism was given extraordinarily high priority in the Clinton administration. Also Wednesday, CIA Director George Tenet told the panel that terrorist intelligence was not properly integrated among different agencies. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

The Food and Drug Administration says patients on some popular antidepressants should be closely monitored for warning signs of suicide. The agency asked the makers of 10 drugs to add the caution to their product labels. In changing its requirement, the FDA stressed that it is not yet clear that the drugs actually lead to suicide. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

Numerous organizations are trying to advance a United Nations call to get medicines to developing countries, but the challenges of following through on such health initiatives are formidable. In Africa, nearly 30 million people are living with HIV, but only 2 percent of people who need AIDS treatment receive it. NPR's Brenda Wilson reports.

Shiite Muslims take steps to ensure their safety as the Ashoura celebration draws to a close. Iraqis establish checkpoints to protect the Kadhimiya mosque, site of one of several bomb attacks Tuesday that left hundreds of Shiite pilgrims dead or wounded. Criticizing U.S. security efforts, Shiites renew calls for an armed militia. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Ivan Watson.

Britain's biggest bookie has stopped taking bets on the existence -- current or past -- of life on Mars. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Warren Lush, spokesman for Ladbrokes betting service, about the decision, which Lush says stemmed from NASA's scientific findings announced this week.

In the 16th century, Copernicus published a book that launched the scientific revolution. In it, he declared the planets revolved around the sun, not Earth. But modern day scholars say the book was barely read in its day. Author Owen Gingerich talks with NPR's Robert Siegel about whether that claim is true.

Bombings at Shiite Muslim shrines in Baghdad and Karbala have led to increased demands for Shiite militiamen to be given authorization to help maintain security in Shiite areas. Officials of the U.S. occupation authority remain opposed to the idea. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.