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Forty years ago Thursday, radio storyteller Jean Shepherd took a crowded bus from New York City to participate in the March on Washington. The next day, he went on the air and shared the experience from his perspective in the crowds. He had been surprised by the good-natured attitude of most of the demonstrators, and by how they had been received by regular people walking around in the city. We hear an excerpt from his broadcast of Aug. 29, 1963.

Pianist and composer Dave Brubeck talks about the similarities between classical and jazz. He says a good melody works well with a jazz quartet or a symphony orchestra.

On August 28, 1963, a quarter million people braved the heat and humidity of the nation's capital to fight for their rights. NPR Senior Correspondent Juan Williams ends the four-part series on March on Washington with the voices that brought power and weight to this historical moment.

Testifying before a judicial inquiry, top British intelligence official John Scarlett denies that his office was pressured by Prime Minister Tony Blair's staff to exaggerate evidence showing that Iraq posed an imminent threat to Britain. New polls suggest 67 percent of Britons believe Blair misled the public about the Iraqi threat. Hear NPR's Guy Raz.

A car bomb explodes near the Baghdad police station, wounding at least 14 people and damaging the offices of the U.S.-appointed police chief. The blast comes four days after an explosion at a Najaf mosque killed a top Shiite cleric and at least 80 others. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson and Fawaz Gerges of Sarah Lawrence College.

The recent attacks on the Jordanian embassy and the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad revive calls for an increase in the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. But the Pentagon says it has no plans to send in reinforcements, arguing that more Iraqis need to be pressed into policing and security roles. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

A massive truck bomb rips through a Baghdad hotel that served as the headquarters of the U.N. mission to Iraq. At least 20 people are killed, including U.N. special representative to Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello. More than 100 people are wounded. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States will seek a new U.N. Security Council resolution that might convince more countries to contribute troops to stabilization efforts in Iraq. But Powell stresses that the United States has no plans to give up its authority over security operations, as some governments have suggested. Hear NPR's Vicky O'Hara.

A car bomb explodes at the headquarters of the U.S.-trained police force in Baghdad, killing one person. The attack comes as mourners in Najaf bury Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, the Shiite cleric killed in last week's mosque bombing. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson and NPR's Emily Harris.

The Senate starts what promises to be a long inquiry into February's space shuttle Columbia disaster. NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe faces questions ranging from budgets to affixing blame for the accident, which killed seven astronauts. NPR's Richard Harris reports.