JUDY WOODRUFF: The heavily protected Green Zone in Baghdad came under repeated attack from insurgents today. The barrage is part of a renewed uprising from Shiite militias around Iraq.
The American embassy is inside the zone, and today a spokesman said one American was killed. That is the second American death this week. A State Department memo obtained by the Associated Press instructed all U.S. embassy personnel to take cover.
Meanwhile, Iraq's prime minister pledged today to fight against Shiite militias until the end. In a nationally televised speech, Nouri al-Maliki said, "We have made up our minds to enter this battle. No retreat."
Fighting between Iraqi security forces and Shiite militia raged on and spread to other cities from Baghdad and Basra. Since Tuesday, more than 200 people have died.
In Dayton, Ohio, President Bush gave his full backing to Maliki.
GEORGE W. BUSH, president of the United States: Iraqi forces planned this operation, and they deployed substantial extra forces for it. They're leading the operation. Prime Minister Maliki has traveled to Basra to oversee it firsthand.
This offensive builds on the security gains of the surge and demonstrates to the Iraqi people that their government is committed to protecting them.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Anger grew against Maliki in the streets of Baghdad today. Thousands of Shiites marched and called him a "new dictator," carrying a coffin with his photograph on it.
The FBI confirmed today that it recovered the bodies of two more American contractors kidnapped in Iraq. Their remains were returned to the U.S. They were among six Western security guards abducted more than a year ago. Earlier this week, the remains of two other American contractors were identified; two men are still missing.
Defense Secretary Gates has ordered a full inventory of all nuclear weapons and related materials; Pentagon officials confirmed that today. It comes after the discovery that ballistic missile fuses were mistakenly delivered to Taiwan. Gates gave the Air Force, Navy and Defense Logistics Agency 60 days to report back.
A group of about 30 monks disrupted foreign reporters today on a Chinese government tour through Tibet. They demonstrated at a holy shrine in Lhasa to protest a lack of religious freedom. We have a report from Lindsey Hilsum of Independent Television News.
LINDSEY HILSUM, ITV News correspondent: The official press tour headed for the Jokhang Temple, Chinese propaganda officials apparently confident that monks there would toe the Communist Party line.
But these are not normal times. Anger and grief overcame fear and the monks gave vent to their feelings.
About 30 burst in shouting slogans in support of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence.
TIBETAN MONK (through translator): They don't trust us. The government thinks we will hit, destroy, rob and burn. We didn't do it, but they accused us. They said we did it, and they won't let us leave.
LINDSEY HILSUM: They said the prayers in the temple had been staged by the Communist Party for the journalists.
GEOFF DYER, journalist, Financial Times: After about five to 10 minutes, lots of security people appeared and started trying to pull us away. One man tried to pull me away several times, and I went back to try and look into the monks. And after about 10 minutes, two men grabbed me from behind and literally dragged me away from the scene.
LINDSEY HILSUM: Earlier this week, Internet pictures showed monks from this very monastery thanking the troops who had quashed the riots. Tibetans and Chinese would be amazed that the Jokhang monks had protested, but few will ever know, because this is what official state television showed tonight: a few shots of a monk from the temple management, no mention at all of the protest.
Back in Lhasa, the journalists filmed evidence of last Friday's violence: a burnt-out shop, a shrine to five young women who were incinerated inside.
JUDY WOODRUFF: The Dalai Lama, Tibet's spiritual leader-in-exile, said today that he was considering a dialogue with China, but he also insisted Chinese authorities must, quote, "accept reality."
In the presidential campaign today, Democratic candidates had different takes on how to fix the flagging economy. In New York, Barack Obama proposed an additional $30 billion stimulus package to help homeowners. In North Carolina, Hillary Clinton focused on job insecurity, calling for a $2.5 billion job retraining program.
We'll have more on the campaign, including Republican John McCain's economic proposals, later in the program tonight.
Flight cancellations spread from American Airlines to Delta today. Combined, more than 400 flights on the two airlines were canceled for inspections by the Federal Aviation Administration. The checks were ordered three weeks ago on all U.S. airlines' maintenance records. The planes are expected to be back in the air by tomorrow.
On Wall Street, stocks fell after disappointing news from Oracle dragged down technology companies. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 120 points to close at 12,302. The Nasdaq fell 43 points to close at 2,280.
