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Host Susan Stamberg continues her discussion with singer/songwriter Billy Joel. The rock icon dedicated his song New York State of Mind to the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (4:09-6:42) Billy Joel's latest CD is called Billy Joel: Fantasies & Delusions, Op. 1-10. It's released by Sony/Columbia.

President George Bush defends his record on job-creation and managing the U.S. economy during a speech in Missouri Monday as the White House sends its annual economic report to Congress. Bush's economic report predicts the economy will grow at 4 percent in 2004, with 2.6 million new jobs created. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

There are an estimated 6,000 western private security contractors in Iraq. Often times, the line between defense and offense can blur as contractors are drawn into heavy firefights with insurgents. There's no real authority structure to control these contractors, and some U.S. lawmakers worry that it's setting a dangerous precedent in a war zone. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

Under pressure from a panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the White House Saturday declassified the President's Daily Brief document from August 6, 2001. The briefing, titled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.," has been mentioned often in testimony before the panel. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen, NPR's Pam Fessler and New York Times correspondent David Sanger.

It's been seven years since detective Jane Tennison last applied her world-weary determination to solving a case on Masterpiece Theatre's Prime Suspect. But on April 18, acclaimed British actress Helen Mirren revives Tennison's character, returning to PBS in Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness. Mirren speaks with NPR's Lynn Neary.

American cyclist Lance Armstrong wins the Tour de France in Paris, setting a new record with six victories. The final margin between Armstrong and his nearest competitor, German Andreas Kloden, was 6 minutes, 19 seconds. Hear NPR's Brian Naylor and John Wilcockson of Velo News.

On Thursday, Microsoft announced a whooping $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo, a merger that would give Google a run for the money. A deal that combines the second and third largest online search companies is likely to attract antitrust review. Greg Sidak, U.S. editor of the Journal of Competition Law and Economics offers some insight.

Melissa Block talks with John Reeves, self-described freeform industrial ice artist. Reeves is the artistic genius behind a 160-foot tall ice sculpture outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. Using strategically placed sprinklers, Reeves estimates that he flows about 6,000 gallons of water onto the sculpture every hour.

Germany unveils a memorial in central Berlin to the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Politicians, Jewish leaders and Holocaust survivors were on hand for the solemn ceremony to inaugurate the monument designed by American architect Peter Eisenman. The opening ends 17 years of debate over how Germany should mark the darkest chapter of its past.

More than 6,000 police departments around the country now use tasers, the electronic stun guns that have been hailed as an alternative to lethal force. But Taser International, which makes the weapons, is facing questions about the safety of its products, and the accuracy of its sales reports. NPR's Laura Sullivan reports.