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Disaster costs fell in the U.S. in 2025. Still, it was the fourth time in five years that extreme weather inflicted more than $100 billion in annual losses. Industry experts say the growing financial toll will make insurers wary of rushing to cut rates.

More than a week of the U.S. and Israel's war against Iran has dragged in global powers, upended the world's energy and transport sectors, and brought chaos to usually peaceful areas of the region.

The Communist Party chooses 59-year-old Hu Jintao as its new general secretary, in effect taking the helm of the world's most populous nation. Hu is not expected to stray far from the path of outgoing President Jiang Zemin, who has pushed economic but not political reform. Hear more from NPR's Rob Gifford.

A jury orders the owners of the NBA's New York Knicks to pay $11.6 million to a former team executive. The jury of four women and three men found that team officials, including coach Isiah Thomas, sexually harassed Anucha Browne Sanders.

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf will seek a new five-year term in elections scheduled for Oct. 6, brushing aside opposition objections and concerns about his waning popularity. Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, has signaled his intension to resign his post as army chief if re-elected.

Kate Seelye in Cairo reports a new pop song with a virulent message is topping the charts in the Egyptian capital. The song is entitled I hate Israel. To some extent, it reflects the popular mood.

Pakistani authorities say they believe their troops have cornered Osama bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, near the Afghan-Pakistan border. Pakistani forces are engaged in a fierce battle there with tribal leaders and al Qaeda fighters. U.S. officials say they cannot confirm the reports. Hear NPR's Mary Louise Kelly.

Osama bin Laden's top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is reportedly cornered by Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border. The United States has offered a $25 million reward for the Egyptian-born Zawahiri's capture. Pakistani officials say a fierce battle with al Qaeda fighters is being waged. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

Some 1.1 million people are living with HIV in the United States, according to new figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a survey of Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City and San Francisco in the past year, 46 percent of the black men surveyed at local bars and dance clubs were HIV positive.

Former Vermont governor Howard Dean insists he will not drop out of the Democratic presidential race if he loses Tuesday's primary in Wisconsin. But a top Dean campaign aide is planning to offer his help to frontrunner John Kerry, if Dean doesn't win in Wisconsin. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards.