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President Bush underscores tax day by renewing his call for another round of tax cuts. Bush wanted $726 billion more in cuts, but the Republican-controlled Congress set the target lower. A poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government indicates Americans don't see a need for more tax relief. NPR's David Welna reports.

As the war in Iraq winds down, a private research group begins efforts to count the number of Iraqi civilians killed in the conflict. But the Center for Defense Information says the task is complicated by ongoing fighting, and by the lack of an official government in Iraq. Hear Mark Burgess of the Center for Defense Information.

In a further sign the U.S. is shifting its focus in the Persian Gulf from fighting to nation building, Gen. Tommy Franks went to the Iraqi capital for the first time since the start of the war. Meanwhile the Pentagon's comptroller estimates the cost of the Iraq war so far at $20 billion. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Michele Norris speaks with Helene and Celia Fassart, who form the group Les Nubians. They talk about how their music blends together musical influences from their youth: jazz, soul and traditional African rhythms. And the Fassarts tell Michele how their French lyrics have been received by English-speaking audiences. Their latest CD is called One Step Forward.

Alan Cheuse reviews the novel Shelter from the Storm by Michael Mewshaw. Cheuse says Mewshaw is a thinking person's thriller writer.

The Bush administration says the war in Iraq has cost $20 billion already, and will require another $20 billion over the next five months. The Pentagon cautions there are variables in the long-term costs. Even so, the estimate is less than private analysts and economists had predicted. NPR's Jack Speer reports.

Host Bob Edwards details the first in a series of new White House chat sessions that took place Wednesday. White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card became the first of the president's senior administration staffers to take questions from the public through the Internet, although he had the choice of which ones he would answer.

NPR's Melissa Block talks with NPR's Jackie Northam reporting from Baghdad.

The U.S. military announces that Iraqi police have arrested Hikmat al-Azzawi, the former Iraqi finance minister and deputy prime minister, and turned him over to U.S. Marines. And a cache of hidden cash is discovered in the walls of one of Saddam Hussein's palaces. Hear NPR's Lynn Neary and NPR's Jackie Northam.

Huge crowds of Iraqi Shiite Muslims converge in Karbala, Iraq. They are making a pilgrimage for one of Shiite Islam's holiest celebrations -- one banned for decades by Saddam Hussein. Some Shiite leaders hope pilgrims will demonstrate against the United States. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports, and NPR's Melissa Block talks to Mahmoud M. Ayoub, professor of Islamic studies and comparative religion at Temple University.