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President Bush selects Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns to succeed Ann Veneman as secretary of agriculture. Johanns is a popular Republican with lifelong ties to agriculture. Also, John Danforth, U.S. ambassador for the United Nations, resigns. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

A confidential report commissioned by NASA concludes the agency's plan to use a robot to save the Hubble telescope is highly risky. The report suggests NASA should send up new instruments on a second, bare-bones telescope.

Brigadier Gen. Ken Gluck, deputy commanding general of a U.S. military task force rushing to aid to areas hardest-hit by Sunday's earthquake and tsunami, calls the devastation along the west coasts of Indonesia and Thailand "overwhelming," and details American plans to provide relief.

Election workers are working around the clock in Baghdad's heavily fortified "green zone," counting the votes from Sunday's election. Results are expected in a few days. The unofficial leader in the poll is the United Iraqi Alliance, a collation of Shiites, followed by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's slate.

Entire towns and villages have disappeared from the coast of the Indonesian province of Aceh at the tip of Sumatra, one of the hardest-hit areas of last week's earthquake and tsunami. Estimates of the number of dead continue to rise, and countless thousands of survivors are in desperate need of food, medicine and potable water. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports.

One of the largest earthquakes in recent memory hit Southeast Asia Sunday morning, setting off tsunamis that killed thousands. Measured at 8.9, it is the strongest earthquake since a 9.2 quake hit Alaska in 1964. Hear NPR's Sheilah Kast and NPR's Michael Sullivan.

The loss of half of the nation's flu-vaccine supply has both President Bush and his Democratic rival, Sen. John Kerry, pointing fingers. But facts suggest both men may be placing the blame where it doesn't belong. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 80, is hospitalized for thyroid cancer. Rehnquist underwent a tracheotomy Saturday at a Maryland hospital. The court's conservative leader is expected to return to work next week. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Nina Totenberg.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says rising energy costs have trimmed economic growth by about three-quarters of a percentage point in 2004. Higher fuel prices could mean a struggle this winter among Americans who use oil to heat their homes. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

Hospitals are increasingly closing cardiac rehabilitation centers, reacting to uncertainty over how to pay for treatments. Despite proof that physical therapy and counseling improve survival rates after a heart attack, only one-third of patients receive it. NPR's Patricia Neighmond reports.