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The BBC's Mike Wooldridge has traveled with inspection teams in Iraq over the past few days. He reports on what they have discovered.

Host Lynn Neary talks with art historian Victoria Combalia about the use of modern art as torture during Spain's civil war 65 years ago. Combalia says the work of artists such as Kandinsky, Klee and Dali was the inspiration for secret cells and torture centers built in Barcelona. She says the torture cells, built in 1938, used geometric abstraction and surrealism to influence and affect prisoners. The torture centers were the creation of French anarchist Alphonse Laurencic.

What do conductor Leopold Stokowski, T.S. Eliot and Grandmaster Flash have in common? They've all won spots on the National Recording Registry, an archive that seeks to preserve the sounds of American culture. NPR's Elizabeth Blair reports on the first 50 recordings to be included in the list. Listen to samples of some of the recordings to be preserved.

Opening statements are heard in the trial of Brian Regan, formerly of the National Reconnaissance Office. He's accused of trying to sell spy satellite data to Iraq, Libya and China for millions of dollars. The defense counters that Regan had no information that could harm the US. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if Regan is convicted. Hear from NPR's Larry Abramson.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days.

In the 1980s and 1990s, asthma rates in U.S. kids reached epidemic proportions. Though studies indicate the rates are leveling off, rates for African American and Hispanic children and inner-city populations aren't declining. New research suggests poverty, stress and poor mental health may be fueling the problem. Madge Kaplan of member station WGBH reports.

The Bush administration raises the national terrorism alert status from yellow to orange, signaling a "high risk" of terrorist attack. A government official says Friday's move is based on an increase in information that suggests an attack may occur as Muslims mark the haj, a five-day ritual that begins Sunday.

The books of Jill Connor Browne -- better known as the Sweet Potato Queen -- are shooting up the best-seller lists. She recently packed a Washington, D.C. bookstore with converts of her sassy, irreverent humor. Her latest book, The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Cookbook and Financial Planner, is already a hit. Listen to her entire hour-long monolouge from the Politics and Prose bookstore.

The government puts the nation on heightened alert for the possibility of terrorism. The Bush administration raises the alert one notch to code orange, signaling a "high risk" of attack, based on communications chatter possibly linked to al Qaeda terrorists. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

Wal-Mart, Target and some other online retailers start collecting sales tax on their online sales. The development might foretell big changes for Internet commerce and provide welcome revenue to states struggling to close budget shortfalls. NPR's Jack Speer reports.