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Iraq's interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi talks about Sunday's elections. He has spent the past week urging Iraqis to vote, while campaigning at the top of the Iraqi List slate. He discusses his legacy as interim leader and his determination to keep the polls open, regardless of security concerns.

Official Washington had barely caught its breath yesterday over the resignation of Attorney General John Ashcroft, when President Bush announced his new choice for the top law enforcement job: White House counsel and longtime Bush confidant Alberto Gonzales. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg reports.

The Bush administration has made Social Security reform a top priority in its second term. In arguing for partial privatization of the system, the president and his supporters warn of dire consequences unless something is done. Bush's critics say he is arguing for overly drastic measures. NPR Don Gonyea reports.

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.

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.

Top officials from the Bush and Clinton administrations tell the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks that they had no specific intelligence before the attacks suggesting terrorists might hijack airliners and crash them into the World Trade Center. But last year, Congress published a report saying a number of warnings detailing the attacks were ignored. Hear NPR's Danny Zwerdling.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. John Kerry, has named a search committee to vet his short list of potential running mates. But choosing a vice presidential candidate isn't easy, and history is full of selections that didn't turn out the way the top of the ticket intended. Hear NPR's Mara Liasson.

President Bush insists that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will stay in his cabinet despite revelations of Iraqi prisoner abuse at the hands of U.S. troops. Top Democrats are calling for Rumsfeld to resign. The defense secretary is to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee Friday. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea, NPR's Michele Norris and Sen. Jeff Sessions.

One of Iraq's top foreign ministry officials, Bassam Kubba, died Saturday after being shot by unknown gunmen in Baghdad. He is the first member of Iraq's two-week-old interim government to be killed. Kubba worked through the ranks of the foreign ministry under Saddam Hussein and became ambassador to China. NPR's Emily Harris reports.

To recap our top story, hosts Madeleine Brand and Mike Pesca discuss the latest news about the presentation of the Iraq Study Group report today.