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Private companies, including those from the steel, telecommunications and construction industries, gather for a conference on Iraq's reconstruction. Equity International, which sponsored the meeting, has organized similar meetings after wars in the Balkans and Afghanistan and says the effort to rebuild Iraq will cost at least $9 billion. Hear NPR's Kathleen Schalch.

A new study finds the overall death rate among people hospitalized for SARS in Hong Kong may be as high as 20 percent, nearly triple the previous estimates. The findings, published in the British medical journal Lancet, suggest death rates for patients age 60 and over are as high as 55 percent. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

As U.S. forces seek an interim administration to run Iraq until elections can be held, the Iraqi National Congress -- a group that opposed Saddam from exile -- is likely to have major influence. Shia Muslims also expect to play a part. Hear from NPR's Jackie Northam, NPR's Melissa Block and Christian Science Monitor reporter Peter Ford.

Turkey's government opens its border with Iraq to humanitarian relief deliveries. The World Food Program is sending about 3,000 tons of food and other supplies across the border each day, intended for people in northern Iraq. NPR's Guy Raz reports.

NPR's Ivan Watson in Baghdad reports Shia Muslim clergymen have mobilized militias and money in a growing bid to fill the vacuum left by the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Some Shiite clerics are advocating establishment of an Islamic state in Iraq, similar to the government in neighboring Iran.

Gen. Tommy Franks visits Baghdad for the first time, as the U.S. military's focus turns to restoring order in postwar Iraq. But anti-American protests erupt in Mosul, and Kurds in northern Iraq have their own agenda for change. Hear NPR's Scott Horsley, NPR's Melissa Block, and Barham Salih, prime minister of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

As part of the overall plan to rebuild Iraq, the United States aims to install an interim administration to run the nation until elections can be held. One of the organizations that likely will play a prominent role is the exiled opposition group the Iraqi National Congress. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

Anti-Americanism is on the rise in Baghdad -- even as a pro-American politician pleads with Iraqis to be patient at the pace of reconstruction. Tension runs high in Mosul where many remain pro-Saddam. And in Kut, Shia Muslims urge Americans not to overstay. Hear reports from NPR's John Burnett, NPR's Ivan Watson and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Many challenges await U.S. companies that will receive contracts to rebuild Iraq's schools. Iraq's public education system once was one of the most progressive in the Middle East, but it has suffered from years of neglect. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports that in the 50 years since the discovery of DNA's structure, genetic research has moved from a race for pure knowledge to a pursuit of profit. The scientific work of researchers James Watson and Francis Crick is now at the center of the entrepreneurial economy, and is erasing the traditional line between academia and industry.

Music critic Ken Tucker reviews American Life, the new CD by Madonna.

U.S. officials say several members of the media and a U.S. serviceman have attempted to ship items from Iraq, including portraits of Saddam Hussein's family and gilded weapons, back to the United States. The U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement says postwar souvenir-hunting is considered theft and illegal under U.S. law. Hear NPR's Eric Niiler.