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Secretary of State of Condoleezza Rice is making her first trip to Iraq as the nation's top diplomat. NPR's Peter Kenyon is in Baghdad, and he talks to host Liane Hansen about Rice's visit and the United States' efforts to combat insurgents along the Syrian border.

The New York Times names Bill Keller as executive editor, more than a month after the newspaper's top editors resigned following a plagiarism scandal. A former Times managing editor and Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent, Keller replaces Howell Raines, who resigned after former reporter Jayson Blair was found to have plagiarized and fabricated stories. Hear NPR's Rick Karr.

A British artist named Banksy has been able to sneak his work into some of New York's top museums over the past month. He tells Michele Norris what he does and why.

A top official at Iraq's foreign ministry is killed in Baghdad during an ambush by unknown gunmen. Bassam Kubba, who had been a career diplomat, is the first member of Iraq's new interim government to lose his life amid continuing violence and security problems. Hear NPR's Linda Wertheimer and NPR's Emily Harris.

A U.N. envoy meets with Iraq's top Shiite Muslim cleric, seeking to resolve the dispute over the cleric's call to elect a transitional assembly. U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says he agrees with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's demand for elections but is unsure whether a vote could be held before a June 30 U.S. deadline for a power transfer. NPR's Deborah Amos reports.

The Justice Department says Jose Padilla, accused of plotting to detonate a bomb containing radioactive material, had conspired with top al Qaeda leaders in his plan. Padilla, a U.S. citizen, has been designated an enemy combatant and held without charge or access to counsel for two years. Officials say he planned to detonate explosives, possibly to destroy apartment buildings in U.S. cities. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

Valpo Parks' assistant director is moving up to the top job. The city says Kevin Nuppnau will take over as Valpo Parks director, when John Seibert retires July 1.

Formed in Dallas, the Old 97's were long pigeonholed as an alt-country band. They never were — just a rocking quartet with a terrific songwriter up top. They've just put out their best album in seven years.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Davos, Switzerland, that the annual World Economic Forum got under way today amid concern over a downturn in the U.S. economy. This year's event did not draw as many top leaders to Davos as last year's 30th anniversary meeting. The Bush administration -- in the midst of confirmation hearings -- sent no senior official to Davos. Swiss police have mounted a huge security operation to prevent the kind of "anti-globalization" protests that have surrounded recent meetings of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organization.

NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that, while financier Marc Rich's pardon didn't go through the usual channels at the Justice Department, one top official, Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, was informed. Another issue about Rich's citizenship has also arisen. At one time he renounced his citizenship, but the State Department maintains he is still a U.S. citizen. If so, the multimillionaire could owe U.S. income taxes on earnings during 17-years of exile in Switzerland. That could sway his decision on whether to return to the U.S.