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NPR’s Liane Hansen speaks with Labor Secretary Elaine Chao about the prospects for the American workforce, as the country attempts to recover from a sluggish economy. The U.S. Department of Labor has established an online job bank and a toll-free help line at 1-877-US-2JOBS.

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) confirms that he will seek the Democratic presidential nomination. Kerry has campaigned and raised money for more than a year. The official announcement comes as he trails rival New England Democrat Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor, in early polls for the critical New Hampshire primary. NPR's Anthony Brooks reports.

Legendary jazz bandleader Artie Shaw donates two of his clarinets to the Smithsonian Institution, including the instrument he used in 1938 to record his first big hit, "Begin the Beguine." Shaw received the institution's James Smithson Medal for his lifetime achievements in music. Until he retired in 1954, Shaw's fame rivaled that of Benny Goodman. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Robert Siegel.

We conclude our summer reading series this week with Dr. Julie Freischlag, surgeon-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital and chair of the department of surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She's recently enjoyed The Secret Life of Bees (Penguin Books; ISBN: 0142001740), by Sue Monk Kidd, and two books by Barbara Kingsolver: The Prodigal Summer (Perennial; ISBN: 0060959037) and The Poisonwood Bible (Perennial; ISBN: 0060930535).

NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports on the hardest-working river in the West: the Colorado. Seven states draw from the river to water crops and quench the thirst of rapidly growing cities. As more users step up to tap the river, the conflicts increase between individual states, competing industries and nature itself.

The March on Washington series continues with a remembrance of Curtis Mayfield's song, "People Get Ready." Although written more than a year after the march, the song evokes the spirit of the civil rights movement. NPR Senior Correspondent Juan Williams reports.

So far this year, health officials report more than 1,300 human cases and 19 deaths from West Nile virus. Those numbers are certain to climb in the next few weeks. Yet as NPR's Jon Hamilton reports, experts insist that the risk of dying or becoming seriously ill from the mosquito-borne disease is remarkably small.

This summer, Mars is making a historic appearance in the night sky, coming closer to Earth than at any time in human history. For space author and Morning Edition commentator Andrew Chaikin, the event became a quest to take a rare astronomical portrait. See Chaikin's prized photos of Mars and the moon.

Who is behind the violent opposition to the American occupation of Iraq and the deadly bombing at the U.N. compound in Baghdad? U.S. military leaders blame terrorists. Some analysts are less certain. Hear NPR's Linda Wertheimer, Rashid Khalidi, director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University, and Loren Thompson, military affairs specialist at the Lexington Insitute.

Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners, and has a challenge for everyone at home. (This week's winner is Brandon Rogers from Yelm, Wash. He listens to Weekend Edition on member station KPLU in Tacoma, Wash.)