Search results for

There was more fierce fighting today around the central Iraqi city of An Najaf, about 100 miles south of the capital of Baghdad. U.S. forces with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division have all but surrounded the city, and are slowly eliminating the Iraqi military and paramilitary resistance there. NPR's Eric Westervelt, embedded with the 3rd Infantry, reports on the fierce battle to gain control of the city -- site of a holy Shi'ite shrine.

Gen. Tommy Franks says the war in Iraq is on schedule and U.S. forces are prepared for an extended conflict. The general outlines the campaign's successes, and reports that in Baghdad, U.S.-led attacks continue to take out key targets. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

U.S. forces crossing the Tigris River in their push toward the Iraqi capital have "destroyed" the Baghdad Division of Iraq's elite Republican Guard, Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks of the U.S. Central Command says. Meanwhile, U.S. warplanes bombard the strategic city of Karbala and U.S. Marines move to within 37 miles of Baghdad. Hear NPR's Nick Spicer.

U.S.-led warplanes strike facilities in Baghdad, including various Republican Guard positions and a presidential compound. The air assault is described as one of the heaviest since the war began. Iraqi officials say 19 people were killed and more than 100 wounded. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten and NPR's Anne Garrels.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments in two cases testing affirmative action in higher education. Three white students who have challenged the University of Michigan's admissions programs allege the university uses a quota system that unfairly benefits minority applicants. Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg.

NPR's Wendy Kaufman profiles the three U.S. Army Rangers who were killed in an apparent suicide bombing while trying to help a pregnant Iraqi woman. The three -- Army Capt. Russell Rippetoe, Spc. Ryan Long and Staff Sgt. Nino Livaudais -- were from Fort Benning, Ga. April 8, 2003

For some perspective on how the Arab world views the conflict in Iraq, NPR's Melissa Block talks with Fahmi Howeidi, commentator and columnist for the Egyptian paper Al-Ahram; and Khaled Al-Maeena, editor in chief of the English-language daily Arab News in Saudi Arabia.

A 12th grade teacher in Tucson, Arizona, talks to her students about poetry, and ends up talking about the war in Iraq.

As the U.S. Supreme Court reviews challenges to the University of Michigan's affirmative action policies, law students at the Ann Arbor campus follow the debate with mixed reactions. NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports.

Iraq's information minister, reading a statement he said was from Saddam Hussein, calls for a holy war against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Meanwhile, Iraq's vice president insists the U.S. military has been unable to make progress in its march to Baghdad and that Iraq has foiled U.S. war plans. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.