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President Clinton's choice for defense secretary, retiring Senator William Cohen, is expected to win easy confirmation by the Senate. The Senate usually embraces nominations of former members. Plus, Cohen is a Republican, seeking the approval of the GOP-led body. Democrats are expected to support the appointment, in part because Cohen has been independent during his three terms, opposing Republican leaders on issues including the Iran-Contra affair. NPR's Elizabeth Arnold has a profile.

Former CIA and FBI chief William Webster, named to head an oversight board for the accounting industry, concedes he may have to step down because of questions about his ties to a key firm. The board holds its first meeting next week. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

A new book about Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, shows the personal and financial damage the Sept. 11 attacks caused the company. On Top of the World discusses how the brokerage firm survived after losing most of its employees in the terrorist attacks. NPR's Juan Williams reports.

Later this month and new online service called Questia will debut. It will provide a library containing 50,000 volumes of literature, scholarly journals and texts. The company hopes to eventually reach 250,000 volumes in the next three years. Questia is targeted mostly to students and will allow them to cross-reference, footnote and do a bibliography all online. Robert talks with Troy Williams, the CEO and President of Questia Media, about the new company and what it has taken to get started.

Host Madeleine Brand talks with the president of the United Nations Association of the USA, William Luers, about the United States' loss of its seat on the U.N.'s Commission for Human Rights. The U.N. Economic and Social Council voted yesterday not to re-elect the U.S. to the commission. This is the first time since the commission's creation in 1947 that the U.S. has not held a position on it.

From the Library of Congress, Recording Sound Specialist, Samuel Brylawski and Acquisition Specialist Cooper Graham. The two compiled a collection of presidential speeches dating back 85 years Historic Presidential Speeches (1908-1993) (on Rhino/World Beat label). It begins with William Howard Taft, recorded during the presidential campaign of 1908. (REBROADCAST from 11

As our series on jazz continues, Farai Chideya uncovers the remaining American jazz meccas and finds out how live venues have shaped the art of jazz. Joining in are Ron Sturm, owner of the Iridium Jazz Club; musician Dennis Winslett; and Peter Williams, artistic director of Yoshi's Jazz Club.

The U.S. Supreme Court makes final rulings on a number of high-profile cases before its summer recess, including separate rulings on displays of the Ten Commandments in Kentucky (no) and Texas (yes). One analyst described the court's rulings as "splitting the baby." Meanwhile, ailing Chief Justice William Rehnquist gave no indication that he plans to retire.

NPR's Juan Williams visits Rep. Max Burns, the freshman Republican congressman from Georgia. Burns says he supports President Bush's decision to attack Iraq. He also backs the president's proposed tax cut, yet Burns' constituents tell him their first priority is getting more jobs into south Georgia. Their conversation is part of an occasional series on how the congressman is adjusting to political life in Washington.

The life of William Jacobs, 83, has rarely followed the course he first plotted. But to his grandson, the way he has handled adversity has been an inspiration.

William Schuman spent most of his professional life as a music administrator. But he also found time to write highly imaginative music. We hear his Third Symphony, which features two under-appreciated instruments of the orchestra: the snare drum and the bass clarinet.

Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 80, is hospitalized for thyroid cancer. Rehnquist underwent a tracheotomy Saturday at a Maryland hospital. The court's conservative leader is expected to return to work next week. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Nina Totenberg.

Dr. William H. Seitz, an orthopedic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, is a specialist in a bone-lengthening technique that develops useful fingers, hands and even elbow joints in children born with malformed limbs. Recent advances have made the process far less painful than before.

In 1831, Nat Turner led a slave rebellion in Southampton County, Va., that killed more than 50 white people. An independent film debuting on PBS examines The Confessions of Nat Turner, William Styron's controversial 1967 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Turner's alleged jailhouse statements and other versions of Turner's story. Pat Dowell reports.

In a prison interview, the grandson of Malcolm X speaks about his own ambitions. Malcolm Shabazz, who is serving time for attempted armed robbery, also discusses the death of his grandmother in a fire he caused when he was 12. Hear NPR's Juan Williams' extended interview with Shabazz.

Secretary of State Colin Powell will meet with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to discuss improving security within Iraq. The meeting comes two days after an explosion at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad killed more than 20 people, including the top U.N. envoy in Iraq. Hear retired Gen. William Nash and Nancy Soderberg, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

Is the Bush White House too secretive? William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, says no. A week ago, NPR's Liane Hansen interviewed Nixon-era White House counsel John Dean, who says in a new book that the current administration is the most secretive in his experience. Kristol tells NPR's Brian Naylor he finds this administration "relatively straightforward."

Former counter-terrorism official Richard Clarke gives testimony to the commission investigating U.S. policies before the Sept. 11 attacks, saying George W. Bush's administration did not give high priority to terrorist threats in its first seven months despite his urgings. Hear NPR's Pam Fessler, NPR's Robert Siegel and former National Security Agency head Lt. Gen. William Odom.

Jan Berry, one half of the '60s musical duo Jan and Dean, dies at 62. William Jan Berry and Dean Torrence produced a string of gold records, including "Surf City" and "Little Old Lady from Pasadena." Berry spent nearly a year in a coma after a 1966 car accident. Hear NPR's Howard Berkes.

For listeners who want to see a movie this weekend but don't want to scour the film reviews to make up their minds, Slate contributor Ben Williams offers this roundup of critical comment on this weekend's new releases. Premiering this Friday: Shark Tale, Ladder 49 and I Heart Huckabees.