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The Bush administration's decision to halt standards for arsenic levels in drinking water is giving local water companies a bit of a reprieve. Under the new standards a municpal water company would have to increase its standards from 50 parts per billion to 10 parts per billion. In most cases that would have meant building new water filtration systems. George Hansen is the general manager of Chesapeake Ranch Water Company in southern Calvert County, Md. Noah Adams speaks with him about the changes he would have to make under new standards and what they are doing now to treat arsenic.

NPR asked reporters in Dallas, Chicago and Boston talk to voters about what they think of the tax cut plan that President Bush sent to Congress today. Wade Goodwyn found a lot of support for the plan at the upscale North Park Mall in Dallas. NPR's Mary Ann Akers found mixed reviews of the tax plan at a state office building in Chicago. NPR's' Anthony Brooks visited Boston's financial district. He found support for the tax cut among people in the financial services business. But more average voters wondered whether the money would be better spent on such programs as Social Security and Medicare.

After more than a century of focusing predominantly across the Atlantic, the Pentagon is shifting its strategy for the future. Military experts are building up U.S. forces in the Pacific again, as future conflicts may arise over Taiwan or North Korea.

Agents in Miami have arrested seven men who are indicted on terrorism charges. The seven are accused of conspiring to provide support to al-Qaida and planning to bomb the Sears Tower in Chicago, along with some government buildings in Miami.

The most popular branch of the Smithsonian will be closing after Labor Day to undergo a planned two-year renovation. The American History Museum wants to update the building's infrastructure and create a better display for the Star Spangled Banner. A painstaking 8-year conservation project on the flag was completed Wednesday.

Scores of buildings, paintings and sculptures throughout Italy are deteriorating, as state funds to preserve them lag. A nonprofit foundation is trying to shock Italians into taking responsibility for their unique art heritage.

A U.S. delegation returns from North Korea, carrying a message from its leaders. The communist country says it has nuclear weapons and plans to build more. But officials doubt whether North Korea has the technology to back up those claims. One American scientist recounts his rare 1994 visit to the country's nuclear facilities, and the questions he was left with. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.

A day-long hostage standoff in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, ends as government commandos storm a resort building, freeing dozens of hostages and leaving several dead, including an American. Gunmen had taken between 45 and 60 hostages during attacks in the heart of the kingdom's oil region Saturday. An al Qaeda-linked group has claimed responsibility. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and Thomas Lippman of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

The Justice Department says Jose Padilla, accused of plotting to detonate a bomb containing radioactive material, had conspired with top al Qaeda leaders in his plan. Padilla, a U.S. citizen, has been designated an enemy combatant and held without charge or access to counsel for two years. Officials say he planned to detonate explosives, possibly to destroy apartment buildings in U.S. cities. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

U.N. troops open fire on mobs of protesters in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, killing at least two people. The conflict stems from anger over the rebel capture of Bukavu, an eastern border city. Crowds took to the streets, accusing the United Nations of allowing the takeover. Rioters also burned buildings and attacked U.N. and other aid compounds across the country. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.