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NPR's Steve Inskeep in Karbala reports on the arrival of tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims who have gone to honor the Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed, and one of the most revered figures in Shiite Islam. Some Shiite leaders have urged the pilgrims to use the occasion to demonstrate their opposition to the American military occupation of Iraq.

Huge crowds of Iraqi Shiite Muslims converge in Karbala, Iraq. They are making a pilgrimage for one of Shiite Islam's holiest celebrations -- one banned for decades by Saddam Hussein. Some Shiite leaders hope pilgrims will demonstrate against the United States. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports, and NPR's Melissa Block talks to Mahmoud M. Ayoub, professor of Islamic studies and comparative religion at Temple University.

NPR's Joanne Silberner reports on the way genetic differences affect the way drugs react in individuals and how it can affect their lives. This is the second part in Morning Edition's four-part series on the discovery of the structure of DNA.

U.S. officials in Iraq discount Mohammed Mohsen al-Zubaidi's claim to be the mayor of Baghdad. Zubaidi says he was elected by a group of clerics, academics and tribal leaders -- and he says he's in frequent contact with U.S. military commanders. NPR's Scott Simon reports.

NPR's Melissa Block talks with NPR's Jackie Northam reporting from Baghdad.

The last of the 20,000 troops of the 1st Marine Division pull out of Baghdad and head south as the Army moves in to take charge of the Iraqi capital. The handover comes as tensions rise between the Marines and Baghdad residents, who express frustration with lawlessness and lack of electricity. Hear NPR's John Burnett.

NPR's Kate Seelye in Damascus reports on the large Iraqi community in Syria. Many are political exiles; others came on a religious pilgrimage. All plan to return home, where many fear an uncertain future.

Host Robert Siegel talks with Newsweek correspondent Babak Dehghanpisheh, who is currently in Sulaimaniyah in northern Iraq. Dehghanpisheh says oil facilities in the region have started functioning on a limited basis, producing enough oil for domestic needs. He also said that ethnic cleansing by Kurds has decreased, and that the Americans have been playing a role in that despite their having tried to stay out of ethnic issues.

Chayes is a former NPR reporter, is now field director of Afghans for Civil Society. It's a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded to promote a democratic alternative and to assist in the development of a civil society. ACS involves the community in reconstruction efforts, from physical reconstruction of a bombed-out village, to organizing a women's income generating project, to launching an independent radio station. The new independent documentary Life After War chronicles the group's efforts. While at NPR, Chayes reported from Paris, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

President Bush names former ambassador Paul Bremer as the new head of the transition team in Iraq. Bremer takes over for retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, who has been leading the post-war reconstruction effort so far. Observers say the appointment is aimed at downplaying the impression that Iraq is under U.S. military occupation. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Fifty-five years ago, John Steinbeck's best friend died in a train accident near Monterey's Cannery Row. Ricketts, a marine biologist, was cast as the fictional "Doc" in Steinbeck's best-selling novel. In the second of two Morning Edition reports, NPR's Renee Montagne looks back at Ricketts and his lasting legacy.

A top commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq says troops have recovered "documentary evidence" that the country's former regime had an active chemical and biological weapons program. But Lt. Gen. William Wallace says no signs have surfaced that Saddam Hussein's forces deployed the banned weapons for use against U.S. forces. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.