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For many, summer is a time of transition: weddings, graduations, job interviews. And that means it's also a season for thank-you notes. Despite the ubiquity of e-mail, experts tell Michele Norris that a handwritten note remains the best way to express your gratitude.

The venerable New York investment firm Goldman Sachs has a long track record for producing political bigwigs. Treasury Secretary-nominee Henry M. Paulson Jr. has served as both chairman and CEO since 1999. The company boasts a return on equity of upwards of 40 percent.

Accepting the Republican nomination for a second term, President Bush outlines proposals addressing education, health care and other domestic issues, while attacking Sen. John Kerry. But the post-Sept. 11 world and war on terrorism dominate Bush's speech. Hear NPR's Mara Liasson.

Sonia Gandhi, heir to India's Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, gives up her chance to become prime minister, reportedly to protect her Congress Party's new government from attacks over her Italian birth. Manmohan Singh, architect of the country's financial reforms, is now seen as the favorite to become prime minister. NPR's Philip Reeves reports.

Congress is expected to approve President Bush's $75-billion request to fund the war in Iraq, but the House and Senate must reconcile differences over the size of a proposed tax cut. The House passed the president's package, worth $726 billion over 10 years. But the war's growing price tag makes the Senate reluctant to sign off on the entire amount. NPR's David Welna reports.

Tens of thousands of Muslims begin a three-day march to mourn Ayatollah Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim, a revered Iraqi Shiite cleric killed by a car-bomb attack Friday. Al-Hakim, a long-time opponent of Saddam Hussein, was one of more than 100 people killed in the bombing of the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.

Supermarket produce shelves can be bleak in December, but the humble cauliflower is in season. Top Chef finalist Carla Hall shares her recipe for a cream of cauliflower soup to warm the winter nights.

Correspondent Susan Stamberg gathers recommendations for the season's best books from booksellers Rona Brinlee, Daniel Goldin and Lucia Silva. Their selections include comics about philosophy, novels about building families, and a box set that dives into the process of writing.

Even as it loses its chief executive, the CIA's recently retired third-ranking official is under investigation for possible improper relations with a defense contractor, says Newsweek magazine correspondent Michael Isikoff. Federal investigators are investigating CIA Executive Director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo.

Nikita Khrushchev starred in his own travel comedy back in 1959. Peter Carlson's new book, K Blows Top, documents the Communist leader's unusual tour through the United States.