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In the coming year, many Americans with employer-provided health insurance will face rising premiums along with increases in deductibles and co-pays. Those costs are expected to continue to rise over the next few years. In a two-part series for Morning Edition, NPR's Julie Rovner reports on the latest effort by employers to hold down health-care spending.

It has killed more than 100 Americans so far -- and the West Nile virus is taking a similar toll at U.S. zoos. Many exotic animals are on the casualty list, and experts fear the mosquito-borne illness will strike a species already in danger of extinction. For Morning Edition, NPR's John Nielsen visits Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo to find out more.

When former President Clinton declared a national monument in Utah six years ago, many politicians and residents said he was abusing presidential power. Now some of those same critics are asking President Bush to take further steps to protect Western land. NPR's Howard Berkes reports on Morning Edition.

In Iraq, U.S. officials work to fend off hostile resistance from many quarters, training a new Iraqi army to handle security and moving toward a constitutional convention that would help establish a democratic government. Hear NPR's Jacki Lyden and NPR's Ivan Watson.

Caroline Kennedy has compiled a new collection of poems for youngsters. The Book My Favorite Poetry for Children includes many of the poems Kennedy's parents read to her.

NPR's Steve Inskeep visits a small morgue on the outskirts of Baghdad. Endless regulations, a lack of trained personnel and a fear of militias are some of the many reasons that it's hard to investigate these deaths.

The House and Senate are expected to pass a measure that would make it harder for debtors to avoid their obligations through federal bankruptcy laws. Bill backers say too many people abuse the practice. But critics say the legislation makes no distinction between those who truly need relief and those who have been irresponsible.

A bill that would provide $80 billion in supplemental spending, mostly for the war in Iraq, is bogged down in Congress. The Bush administration asked for the money two months ago. But both the House and Senate have tacked many unrelated items -- including controversial immigration legislation -- onto the bill.

Irene Winstead has been driving a school bus in Montgomery County, Md., for 20 years. Now she and her fiance Kenneth Lee, also a school bus driver, are retiring. We listen in on a sad day for Winstead and for many of the parents of the students she drives.

Shiite gunmen in Najaf abandon a cease-fire with U.S. forces, as revered Shiite leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani returns to the city. Thousands of Sistani's supporters march to Najaf, many cheering the militia's cause. Attacks in Kufa and Najaf kill dozens of marchers. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.