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The number of Americans without health insurance grows in 2002 to almost 44 million. It's the biggest increase in a decade. The Census Bureau report says rising insurance costs and increased unemployment are behind the jump. Hear NPR's Julie Rovner and Princeton University health economist Uwe Reinhardt.

The House Appropriations Committee approves President Bush's $87 billion funding request for Iraq and Afghanistan with few amendments. The panel defeats Democratic attempts to make part of the money a loan -- or rescind Bush's tax cuts to pay for it. Hear NPR's Peter Overby.

A suicide car bomber rams a barricade outside a hotel full of Americans, and the explosion kills at least six bystanders and injures dozens more. It is the second car bombing in the past four days. NPR's Tom Bullock reports.

Syria asserts its own right to self defense if Israel tries more airstrikes -- such as the Oct. 5 bombing raid on a base outside Damascus that Israel says was used to train Palestinians for terrorist attacks. Israel responds by saying states that harbor terrorists are legitimate targets. Hear NPR's Peter Kenyon.

A senior U.S. military official in northern Iraq says intelligence reports suggest that Saddam Hussein was in the area recently. Maj. Troy Smith says the ousted leader may be bankrolling and organizing guerilla attacks on U.S. forces in the Tikrit area. NPR's Guy Raz reports.

Two Democratic congressmen say that Halliburton is overcharging the United States for gasoline it imports into Iraq, citing lower gas prices elsewhere in the country. The company says its price reflects the cost of doing business in a hostile area. NPR's John Burnett reports.

A car bomb kills two American soldiers in the Iraqi city of Mosul, and an oil pipeline burns after an explosion near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Paul Bremer, the American chief administrator for Iraq, says U.S. forces will speed training of Iraqi recruits to improve security amid increased attacks. Hear the NPR News report.

Addressing a joint meeting of Congress, British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he believes history will forgive the U.S.-led war in Iraq, even if it turns out that Saddam Hussein's ousted regime did not have any weapons of mass destruction. Hear NPR News.

President Bush defends the quality of intelligence he received on Iraq's banned weapons programs, calling it "darn good." Bush's comments follow renewed criticism of an incorrect claim he made in his January State of the Union speech that Iraq had tried to purchase uranium for nuclear weapons. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea.

Seven American prisoners of war are rescued by U.S. Marines heading north from Baghdad to Tikrit. Gen. Tommy Franks says the five Army soldiers and two pilots, missing for more than three weeks, are in good shape. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep.