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The real-life story behind Irene Nemirovsky's Suite Francaise is a compelling one: the author's manuscript lay unread for years after her death at the Auschwitz camp. But Nemirovsky's writing, notes author Elizabeth Strout, can stand up to its own tragic provenance.

As Israeli troops pull back from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, the respite provides a chance to assess damage from last week's fighting. A visit to one home shows some of the effects of the incursion.

Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev died in Ingushetia when a dynamite-laden truck exploded in his convoy, according to Russian officials. Basayev was held responsible for a large number of terrorist attacks in Russia, including a 2004 school hostage taking that left 331 dead. The Wall Street Journal reporter Alan Cullison talks with Madeleine Brand about Basayev.

President Bush is set to propose a plan to use thousands of National Guard troops to bolster security along the U.S.-Mexico border. The president is expected to announce the widely reported plan during a national TV address from the Oval Office tonight.

Germany's Torsten Frings was banned from the World Cup semifinals after a disciplinary committee found he punched Argentina forward Julio Cruz in a post-match fracas in the quarterfinals. FIFA's disciplinary committee announced the ban Monday, the eve of Germany's semifinal match against Italy at Dortmund.

In San Diego, verbal fireworks highlighted a House subcommittee hearing on immigration reform. Republican House members claimed that security lapses at the border are creating an open door for terrorists. Protesters called the hearing a sham.

A powerful Chicago alderman has proposed that the city become the first in the United States to ban the use of trans fats in restaurants. Trans fats are considered the most unhealthy of all cooking oils. Michele Norris gets the skinny on trans fats from Kim Severson, a New York Times reporter and author of The Trans Fats Solution: Cooking and Shopping to Eliminate the Deadliest Fat from Your Diet.

New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark believes in numbers. Whether they are lotto tickets, school grades or municipal tax revenues, she says numbers shape our lives more than we realize.

Amir ElSaffar put his New York City jazz club career on hold four years ago. ElSaffar, an Iraqi-American, put down the trumpet to learn the centuries-old singing style known as maqam. Having trained in the form, he has now released his own CD of the traditional music.

We rebroadcast an interview with late mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt. She had been called the "reigning Handel diva of our day." She appeared in Peter Sellars' productions of Handel and Mozart. This interview originally aired on April 8, 1996.

A large white sheep dog from the cold mountains of Eastern Anatolia is a national symbol in Turkey. The Kangal is considered such an important cultural heritage that the Turkish government funds efforts to protect the breed.

In Iraq, Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki is struggling with sectarian divisions as he attempts to fill out his Cabinet before the constitutional deadline of May 22. The backdrop for Iraq's political troubles continues to be deadly violence, with multiple attacks leaving dozens dead on Sunday. Monday also brings the resumption of Saddam Hussein's trial.