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Isabel Allende's novel, Ines of My Soul, is a fictionalized account of the life of Ines Suarez, a seamstress who helped found Chile. The story led Allende to empathize with both sides of a centuries-old conflict.

Sandy Tolan talks about his book The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew and the Heart of the Middle East. The account grew out of a 1998 NPR documentary in which Tolan reported on a friendship between a Palestinian man and an Israeli woman that served as an example of the region's fragile history.

Commentator Kristine Holmgren says that she is concerned about the effect that the new welfare reform bill will have on the poor families at her church and around the country. She says the bill's supporters, who assume that private charities will increase services to offset welfare cuts, haven't taken into account one important factor. After 10 years of working with the poor, Holmgren says, she has learned that the poor are proud -- maybe too proud to ask for help from people in their communities, whom they have to face every day.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is probing the alleged unprovoked killings of 24 civilians last November by U.S. Marines in the insurgent hotbed of Haditha, Iraq. According to news accounts, the killings were in retaliation for the death of Marine Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, Jr.

In April, New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins will receive the George Polk Award for War Reporting for "his riveting, first-hand account of an eight-day attack on Iraqi insurgents in Fallujah." We talk with him about the rebuilding country and its recent elections.

A group of anesthesiologists discusses reports that patients who are put into a deeper sleep during surgery are more likely to die within weeks, or months. Experts in the field say that while people over 65 may be at a greater risk, tens of thousands of deaths may be preventable by taking the findings into account. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

Press freedom advocates around the world have decried this week's raids on the BBC — in which journalists and accountants alike were questioned, and had their phones and laptops searched.

The two-pill treatment prevents a pregnancy from continuing weeks into the process and accounts for half of all abortions in the U.S.

A new report on the Beslan school seizure contradicts an earlier account. More than 300 people were killed two years ago when Chechen militants seized the school. Russian officials have said that the blasts and fire began when hostage-takers set off bombs. But a report from a Russian lawmaker says security forces started the blasts when they fired grenades at the school.

Native Americans have one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country but account for only 1.5% of North America’s population.