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The Bush administration says it will not reward North Korea's threatening behavior, yet a top U.S. envoy holds out hope that some form of U.S. assistance for North Korea might be forthcoming if the North drops its nuclear weapons development. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in China, the final stop of her first Asian tour as America's top diplomat. Rice visited Japan and South Korea in the last two days; the focus of many of her discussions has been North Korea and its nuclear research.

The war on terror has forced al Qaida to decentralize its global structure. A former FBI counterterrorism agent says al Qaida is an especially flexible organization that has changed its tactics but has the same goal: an attack in the United States. Although no attacks have occurred since Sept. 11, al Qaida is still viewed as the top threat to U.S. national security.

It has been 40 years since Aretha Franklin's rendition of "Respect" first topped the charts in June 1967. Four decades later, the song is still a hit.

Despite large-scale anti-American violence in Baghdad, President Bush and top American generals assert that the United States is making steady progress in rebuilding Iraq. Citing gains in the nation's economy and overall security, administration and military officials say that Monday's attacks show Hussein loyalists' desperation. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top military commander in Iraq, says the U.S.-led authority is "way ahead of schedule." And U.S. civilian administrator Paul Bremer says U.S. forces are making progress against guerrilla-type resistance from remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime. But some Baghdadis express dissatisfaction with developments in Iraq. Hear NPR's Guy Raz.

R&B singer Luther Vandross is continuing to recover from the stroke he suffered earlier this year. His latest CD, Dance With My Father, debuted at number one earlier this summer, and remains in the top 10. Writer Sara Bardeen has a review of the CD.

NPR's Christopher Joyce in Baghdad reports the U.S. civil administration in Iraq has again postponed plans to establish an interim Iraqi authority to help govern the country. A conference to create the authority had been expected in June, but the top U.S. official in Baghdad, Paul Bremer, told reporters it will not be held before mid-July at the earliest.

Top U.S. military officials warn that the war has not ended in Iraq, especially in the north, despite successes in Baghdad and other key cities. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, says only after hostilities have ended can the military turn to matters such as policing against looters. Myers talks to NPR's Robert Siegel.

Lt. General David McKiernan, the top commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, pledges to "aggressively target" crime in Baghdad and restore order to the city. Military officials deny a New York Times report suggesting U.S. forces now have permission to shoot looters, including children, on sight. NPR's Guy Raz reports.