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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.

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.

The Pentagon is expected to replace Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez as the top U.S. commander in Iraq. President Bush called Sanchez "exemplary," and officials say his transfer is part of a long-planned reorganization. Nevertheless, the move leaves the impression in some quarters that the administration is not satisfied with Sanchez's performance in Iraq. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Songwriter Felice Bryant dies at age 77 at home in Gatlinburg, Tenn. She collaborated with her husband to pen some of the best-known tunes in country music and early rock 'n' roll. Her songs Bye Bye Love and Wake Up Little Susie were Everly Brothers standards, just as Rocky Top became a country standard. NPR's Melissa Block offers a remembrance.

We kept coming back to Pop Smoke's Meet the Woo 2, Soccer Mommy's deceptively sunny '90s pop and Makaya McCraven's creative reimagining of Gil Scott-Heron's poetry.

Lana Del Rey balanced bleak beauty with real insight, Young Thug's So Much Fun culminated his influence and Bon Iver offered an album just in time for autumn.

In the sweaty month of July, we turned to Cuco's Para Mí, Burna Boy's African Giant and J. Cole's homie-gathering compilation Revenge of the Dreamers III.

The highway bill signed by President Bush Wednesday is nearly $30 billion richer than what Bush proposed -- and it tops the figure he said he'd veto. The president has said he expects to cut the federal budget deficit in half by 2009, warning that Congress must control spending.

Biden's novel step of preemptive pardons is meant to protect people from the threat of "unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions."

While six retired military generals have come out in the past weeks calling for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to step down, no active generals have followed suit. Time magazine reporter and commentator Douglas Waller offers some historical perspective on speaking out against a senior official.