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All Things Considered guest host John Ydstie talks with United Nations Assistant Emergency Relief Coordinator Ross Mountain about the situation on the ground in Iraq. Iraqi families currently have enough food to last through the month, and the expected flood of refugees has not yet materialized. But Mountain says the situation could worsen significantly.

Allen Toussaint, evacuated from New Orleans after the floods hit, is a songwriter best known for the hit "Working in the Coal Mine." He wrote songs for The Meters, Dr. John, Patti LaBelle and many others, and was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. (This interview was first broadcast on Jan. 6, 1988.)

President Bush selects Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns to succeed Ann Veneman as secretary of agriculture. Johanns is a popular Republican with lifelong ties to agriculture. Also, John Danforth, U.S. ambassador for the United Nations, resigns. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

The loss of half of the nation's flu-vaccine supply has both President Bush and his Democratic rival, Sen. John Kerry, pointing fingers. But facts suggest both men may be placing the blame where it doesn't belong. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Two weeks after the death of Pope John Paul II, the process of electing a new leader of the Roman Catholic Church formally begins. The public was invited to Monday morning's Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. But the actual conclave, meeting in the Sistine Chapel, is shrouded in secrecy.

"Solidarity Forever," the unofficial anthem of the American labor movement, was written in 1915 by a little-known poet named Ralph Chaplin and set to the civil war tune "John Brown's Body." Since then, it has been sung in union halls, jails and on picket lines across the country.

President Bush has had a tough year. The war in Iraq dragged his public standing to its lowest ebb. His administration was criticized for its handling of Hurricane Katrina. But he did score one big success: the appointment of John Roberts as chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Theologian Elaine Pagels has written Beyond Belief, The Secret Gospel of Thomas. The text of the gospel, discovered in 1945 in Egypt, paints a different vision of Jesus than do the Gospels that made it into the official biblical canon. Pagels speaks with NPR's John Ydstie.

Catholic worshippers across the country express their feelings about last week's meeting between American cardinals and Pope John Paul II. Some parishioners are satisfied with the Church's statements on sexually abusive priests -- while others feel more should be done. We hear voices from Washington, D.C., as well as reports from Missy Shelton from member station KSMU in Springfield, Missouri, and Bellamy Pailthorpe from member station KPLU in Seattle.

At just about every event or campaign stop, there are young people holding up signs. Their mission: to get their candidate's name on television. High school senior Robert Mack, a volunteer for Sen. John Edwards' campaign, talks about why he signed up.

The five Democrats vying for their party's presidential nomination prepare for Wisconsin's Tuesday primary and Sunday night debate. Opinion polls show Sen. John Kerry holding the lead in voter support, as he often has in the string of primaries and caucuses held so far. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Scott Horsley.

Insurgents fire grenades at an Iraqi civil defense facility as Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, visits. Abizaid was not hurt in the attack, which caused no American casualties. The attackers escaped. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Eric Westervelt.

Singer-songwriter Rodney Crowell has been personally and professionally linked to some of country music's biggest stars. He's written songs for Willie Nelson and Emmylou Harris, and he's the former son-in-law of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. Crowell talks to NPR's John Ydstie about his introspective new album Fate's Right Hand.

Seven Democrats are still in the running for the party's presidential nomination, and they'll be competing in seven different state contests Tuesday. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts leads in many polls after early victories in the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Adam Hochberg.

U.S. military authorities investigate reports that American planes mistakenly dropped bombs on a convoy of U.S. Special Forces and Kurdish fighters in Northern Iraq. Eighteen Kurds were killed, and dozens more were wounded. All Things Considered guest host John Ydstie talks with NPR's Ivan Watson about the attack.

Testifying before a judicial inquiry, top British intelligence official John Scarlett denies that his office was pressured by Prime Minister Tony Blair's staff to exaggerate evidence showing that Iraq posed an imminent threat to Britain. New polls suggest 67 percent of Britons believe Blair misled the public about the Iraqi threat. Hear NPR's Guy Raz.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, refuses to apologize for calling his Republican opposition "crooked." Kerry took part in the Senate's budget debate Thursday and met with House Democrats eager to boost his candidacy. Congressional Republicans repeated calls for Kerry to retract his remarks. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

Efforts are under way in Baghdad to revive the interim constitution that was supposed to be signed by Iraqi factions yesterday. At the last moment, five Shia Muslim leaders refused to endorse the document, to the embarrassment of U.S. administrators. A new meeting is set for Monday. Hear NPR's John Ydstie and NPR's Ivan Watson.

Former U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton join other prominent Democrats to hail Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry as the party's new leader and pledge to help him win the presidency in November. The fundraising dinner in Washington, D.C., pulled in more than $11 million, a record for Democrats. Hear NPR's David Welna.

A large explosion destroys the Mount Lebanon Hotel in downtown Baghdad, sparking fires, damaging nearby buildings and causing an unknown number of casualties. Rescuers are still pulling bodies from the rubble. Earlier, angry Iraqis pushed back U.S. soldiers trying to help. Hear NPR's Madeleine Brand and Los Angeles Times reporter John Daniszewski in Baghdad.