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Russian President Vladimir Putin admits making mistakes in his policy on Chechnya, and suggests he'd be willing to give the breakaway republic much greater autonomy. But he rejects criticisms that he should have negotiated with rebels in last week's deadly school siege. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Fiona Hill of the Brookings Institution.

In a memorandum, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, an influential Vatican official on Catholic doctrine, suggests that Catholic voters might be able to support an abortion rights candidate and still stay within the bounds of church teaching. Hear NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty.

Hurricane Jeanne sweeps through much of central Florida, killing six people and leaving millions without power. President Bush has declared the state major disaster area. FEMA is now coping with the largest relief effort in its history. Hear NPR's Anthony Brooks.

Gunmen release 26 women and small children held hostage at a school in southern Russia, but hundreds more remain inside. The militants have killed about a dozen people, mostly police officers, and rebuffed proposals to end the standoff. Hear NPR's Lawrence Sheets.

On the third night of the GOP convention, Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Zell Miller, a Georgia Democrat, assail Sen. John Kerry, calling him weak on national security and accusing him of changing his stance on Iraq.

President Bush and Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry turn their attention to domestic issues. Kerry discussed health care in Des Moines, Iowa, while Bush talked about small business growth in Colmar, Penn. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and NPR's Mara Liasson.

John Kerry says he would make America's military stronger if he were president. The Democratic nominee, speaking at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, criticized President Bush's proposed reductions in U.S. troop levels abroad. NPR's Juan Williams reports.

Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agrees to disarm and withdraw his militia from the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, promising a possible end to two weeks of fighting. Negotiations with the cleric began several days ago. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.

Fighting resumes in Najaf after a collapse in truce talks between Iraqi officials and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Mortar shells hit Baghdad near where delegates are meeting to choose a national assembly. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and John Burns of The New York Times.

Vice President Dick Cheney will formally accept the Republican Party's nomination for a second term as President Bush's running mate Wednesday night. Over the last four years, Cheney has been Bush's most influential adviser, an emissary to conservatives and a lightning rod for critics. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.