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With the release this weekend of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, our summer reading series features Eden Ross Lipson, the children's book editor at The New York Times. In lieu of the Harry Potter books, she recommends Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy: The Golden Compass (Del Rey; ISBN: 0345413350), The Subtle Knife (Del Rey; ISBN: 0345413369, and The Amber Spyglass (Del Rey; ISBN: 0345413377). She also likes Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord (Scholastic; ISBN: 0439404371).

In a series of closed hearings, House and Senate committees examine whether U.S. intelligence about possible illegal weapons in Iraq were exaggerated to justify war. Meanwhile, U.S. officials say they expect 20,000 to 30,000 troops from other countries, including the Netherlands, Slovakia, Denmark and the Ukraine, will be in Iraq by August. Hear Dana Priest of The Washington Post and NPR's Michele Kelemen.

The 24-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback died early Saturday after being struck by a dump truck while walking on a South Florida interstate, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The Reduced Shakespeare Company, an outrageous theater troupe known for paring down the longest of works to the simplest of stage shows, presents a two-minute version of their 90-minute production "All the Great Books (Abridged)."

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health are attempting the first test of an HIV vaccine that could stop the global spread of AIDS. But as NPR's Joe Palca reports, finding volunteers willing to get innoculated with an unproven and possibly harmful vaccine is proving difficult. Learn more about the vaccine program.

Fifty years ago -- and two years before the famed bus boycott in Montgomery, Ala. -- black citizens in Baton Rouge, La., staged what's believed to be the first-ever organized protest of Jim Crow laws in the South. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports on the anniversary of the Baton Rouge bus boycott.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Manito, a small budget film by first-time director Eric Eason. Manito won prizes at Sundance. It's being distributed in a novel way. It is getting a limited run in big cities and is also a part of a new DVD subscription service.

Robert Siegel talks with Kanan Makiya, a high-ranking member of the Iraqi opposition. Makiya is also aprofessor of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at Brandeis University, and author of Cruelty and Silence.

Senate lawmakers begin discussions on a bill to add a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program. The plan would pay about a third of the $3,000 a year that the average senior spends on prescription drugs. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

It's the new chorus of the computer age: "You've got spyware!" It can take the shape of a green alligator, a purple monkey, or a colorful new toolbar that suddenly appears on your Web browser. These stealth programs can fill your screen with a blizzard of pop-up ads, or disable your computer entirely. NPR's Susan Stone reports.