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U.S. officials say Saddam Hussein's regime appears to have lost hold of Baghdad, though some fighting continues. Security forces and government officials have disappeared, replaced by looters, and a crowd of Iraqi citizens, with th help of a U.S. Marine vehicle, topples a 40-foot statue of Saddam Hussein. U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks says the regime "is in disarray and much of Iraq is free from years of oppression." Hear NPR News.

U.S. officials say Saddam Hussein's regime appears to have lost hold of Baghdad. Security forces desert the streets, replaced by looters, and government officials have disappeared, though some fighting continues. From Qatar, U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks says the regime "is in disarray and much of Iraq is free from years of oppression." Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden.

A group of Iraqis fires rocket-propelled grenades at a U.S. military convoy in Baghdad, killing one U.S. soldier and wounding six others. The attack comes a day after Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld warned that the United States might need to deploy more troops to Iraq to counter a growing resistance movement. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

U.S. civilian administrator Paul Bremer heads to Capitol Hill to brief members of Congress on U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq. The meetings come as Republicans defend the Bush administration's record in Iraq. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says more than 80 percent of the Iraqi population is living in a "more secure environment" than before the war. Hear NPR's David Welna.

Allied officials say they will soon pick a council of leading Iraqis to work under U.S. and British occupation forces. It's billed as a small first step in turning power over to Iraqis, but it does not constitute the start of a new government -- that will have to wait for a constitutional convention and elections. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with NPR's Deborah Amos in Iraq.

U.S. forces arrest self-proclaimed Baghdad mayor Mohammed Mohsen Zubaidi, an Iraqi exile, for his "inability to support the coalition military authority and for exercising authority which was not his," U.S. Central Command says. But some Iraqis see Zubaidi's arrest as an attempt by the United States to impose its will on the country. Hear NPR's Jackie Northam.

U.S. officials take custody of a former Iraqi spy chief. The arrest of Farouk Hijazi comes a day after Tariq Aziz, Iraq's highly visible former deputy prime minister, turned himself in to U.S. officials. Some believe Aziz may be able to disclose information on the status of Saddam Hussein. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and NPR's Guy Raz.

President Bush says he is confident weapons of mass destruction will be found in Iraq, and suggests ordinary Iraqi citizens may provide key information. Meanwhile, about 1,000 weapons and intelligence experts, including former U.N. weapons inspectors, prepare to head to Iraq. Hear Terrence Taylor, a former U.N. weapons inspector.

The State Department confirms reports that Saddam Hussein and his family seized about $1 billion from the Iraqi central bank hours before the start of the U.S.-led invasion. U.S. officials say they are trying to trace the missing cash, which may have helped fund an escape by the Hussein family. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

A draft resolution by the United States asking for a greater U.N. role in Iraq is called "insufficient" by France and Germany. At a news conference, French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder say the resolution needs to cede more authority in Iraq to the United Nations. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.