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The Pentagon is defending its use of a toxic agent called white phosphorus to smoke out and capture insurgents in last year's battle for Fallujah. If ignited particles of the chemical land on a human, they can burn through flesh and bone. John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org discusses the controversy.

The Pentagon plans to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq by early next year. Bradley Graham of The Washington Post discusses his reporting on the plan, which entails tentatively cutting U.S. forces in Iraq by up to three combat brigades, compared to 18 now.

Peasants relocated to make room for a reservoir in northern China's Hebei province claim local leaders pocketed more than $7 million in compensation funds owed to them. Those who tried to organize a recall vote were bribed, beaten or jailed into submission. The case typifies recent rural protests.

House Republicans' choice to take over Tom DeLay's duties, Roy Blunt, is known by politicians from both parties for his "velvet" approach. But he has been dogged by his own ethics questions. Host Melissa Block talks to Deirdre Shesgreen, Washington correspondent for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Another White House official was named over the weekend as a source for the leak of a CIA agent's identity. Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper said he spoke with Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, about the case.

Steve Inskeep talks with Mayor Brad Bailey of Groves, Texas, one week after the region was preparing for Hurricane Rita. Bailey says that the town has had a lot of cleanup work to do, but luckily escaped major flooding or chemical pollution.

Harry Whittington, the Texas lawyer shot by Vice President Dick Cheney in a hunting accident Saturday, suffers a mild heart attack Tuesday while undergoing evaluation of his condition. Doctors are optimistic about his recovery, but will keep him in the hospital another week.

Announced layoffs at Ford and GM have made headlines, but do not necessarily reflect the health of the U.S. auto industry's job market. Over the past 15 years, the number of people building autos and making parts in the United States has held just about steady, thanks to hiring by foreign automakers.

As people get more of their entertainment from the Internet, the amount of data flowing in and out of the house is going to grow. Telecommunications companies and communities are looking for ways to make "broadband" even broader -- and more affordable.

House Republicans basked in triumph after razor-thin passage of a sweeping budget cut plan in the wee hours of Friday morning. But intra-party tensions are sure to flare again when negotiations begin next month on a House-Senate compromise measure.