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NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that surgeons in Manchester, England have been separating conjoined twin girls at the center of a lengthy legal battle. The girls were born last August, joined at the abdomen and with a fused spin. They share a single heart and a pair of lungs. Their parents -- devout Roman Catholics -- brought them from Malta to Britain, seeking medical care. But the parents resisted surgery after learning that the operation would in all probability cause the death of one of the twins, in order to save the other. After a long ethical battle in the courts, the parents finally dropped the fight.

For nearly 30 years, school officials in Charlotte, N.C., have been under court order to consider race when making student assignments. A group of parents filed a lawsuit challenging that policy, seeking the end of busing for desegregation. The case, which has lasted three years and produced two contradictory legal decisions, will be heard by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals tomorrow. Writer Andrea Cooper longs for the day when it's easy to answer the question, "Where is your child going to school?"

Sen. John Kerry seeks to define his campaign by his combat experience in the Vietnam War -- a tour of duty that earned him three Purple Hearts and a Bronze and Silver star for valor. But Kerry's campaign has come under fire by a group of GOP-linked activists who question his wartime conduct in a television ad. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Charles Duelfer, who served as deputy executive chairman of the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) from 1993 to 2000, about the additional $600 million the Bush administration is seeking for the continuing search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The money is part of the $87 billion request that Bush has already put before Congress, and comes on top of the $300 million already spent in the weapons search.

The World Health Organization extends a travel warning to Taiwan and two more Chinese provinces, as the number of SARS cases rises. In Hong Kong, also under a WHO travel advisory, officials say the rate of SARS infection has slowed. But streets and public facilities remain empty as residents seek to avoid contracting the disease that has infected more than 1,600 in the city. Hear NPR's Joe Palca.

Faced with threats to its security, a democratic society will often seek to elude confronting the issue of torture. That's the conclusion of journalist Joseph Lelyveld of The New York Times Magazine . Lelyveld spoke with politicians, legal experts, spymasters and interrogators for his recent story, "Interrogating Ourselves."

In the wake of a bankruptcy judge's ruling that United Airlines can terminate its employee pension plan, other U.S. airlines might respond in a similar fashion. The industry is seeking to cut costs as it reels from high fuel prices and stiff competition.

Chief justice nominee John Roberts takes questions from senators seeking definitive answers on issues from abortion to the environment to stopping a war. But Roberts refused to say whether, for example, he would vote to overturn or restrict abortion rights.

Democratic Sen. John Kerry and his new vice presidential choice, Sen. John Edwards, kick off a cross-country barnstorming tour that will take them to at least seven states before Sunday. Democrats have rallied around the selection of Edwards, a party favorite. Republicans are already seeking to portray Edwards as too inexperienced for the No. 2 job. Hear NPR's Scott Horsley.

Retired Adm. Harold Gehman, who led the investigation into the Columbia space shuttle disaster, calls for a new review of the risks and benefits of keeping the Hubble space telescope alive. NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe tells a Senate panel he'll seek advice from the National Academy of Sciences, though for now he stands by his decision to retire Hubble early. Hear NPR's David Kestenbaum.