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Ten years ago, the not-guilty verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial revealed a huge racial divide on perceptions about the criminal justice system. NPR's Mandalit del Barco looks back at the milestone and examines how it's left a lasting mark.

An analytical look at the week's news events. Topics include the readiness of Iraqi security forces; a new Supreme Court session with a new chief justice; Tom DeLay's indictment and reporter Judith Miller's grand jury testimony.

The House majority leader was indicted and forced to step aside. A new chief justice of the United States was confirmed, but a battle looms over a second nominee. It's a dramatic time in American politics.

Untreated wastewater flows from Tijuana, Mexico, into the Pacific Ocean near the California border. Sasha Khokha of NPR station KQED says the U.S. government is expected to endorse a much-debated treatment plant.

New Orleans today began allowing residents from eight of the city's 18 postal zip codes to return home as part of a phased return program. Many areas of the city still lack electricity and clean water.

With the nomination of Judge John Roberts as U.S. chief justice likely to be confirmed, the stage is set for what could be a contentious battle over the nominee who takes Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's place. That nominee has a chance to change the direction of the court.

Now that John Roberts has been confirmed as chief justice of the Supreme Court, attention turns to President Bush's next nominee for the court. It's a choice that's likely to ignite a fierce battle between Republicans and Democrats. Host Melissa Block talks with NPR's Nina Totenberg about Thursday's events and what lies ahead.

E.J. Dionne, a columnist for The Washington Post and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and David Brooks, columnist for The New York Times discuss Rep. Tom DeLay's indictment by a Texas grand jury with conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme. He is temporarily stepping down from his post of House majority leader.

Michael Brown, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, vehemently defended himself in a Capitol Hill hearing on the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. Brown said limited resources and a lack of cooperation from state and local officials hampered FEMA.

Some of the levees in New Orleans patched up after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city were unable to hold back surging waters from Hurricane Rita. Parts of the city that had been mostly drained of standing water are flooded again.