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Chris Douridas, a music supervisor for feature films and host of the music show New Ground at member station KCRW, recently went to Japan and brought back some real gems — he shares his musical finds.

Author Octavia Butler died on Friday. Butler was a leading science fiction writer who won every major award in her field. In 1995, she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.

Tim Carney, the last American ambassador to Sudan before the United States downgraded relations in 1997, wants to promote a broader view of the country through a new collection of photographs. NPR foreign correspondent Michele Kelemen reviews Carney's book, Sudan: The Land and the People.

In Spanish, lucha libre is translated literally to mean "free fighting" -- and to many Latinos, it's professional wrestling, vaudeville, a venerable cinema genre and the Bushido code of the Japanese Samurai all wrapped up in one campy and crowd-pleasing spectacle.

President Bush and his aides ponder their course of political action as the administration seeks to recover from Friday's indictment of a senior White House official and the withdrawal of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers.

The three major credit reporting agencies announce a new way of calculating credit scores. The move is meant to give you a better understanding of how the score is determined, and how much credit you can carry.

Erika Solomon of NPR's Next Generation Radio project reports on a troupe of "ghost hunters" seeking out a spirit that is allegedly haunting an old coffee factory in Kansas City, Mo.

Irish storyteller and folklorist Eddie Lenihan has spent 30 years collecting and telling stories. He has the largest private collection of folklore in Ireland. Lenihan travels the world on a mission to tell his tales -- and in the process, help preserve Irish culture in the modern world.

Commentator Frank Deford is tickled by NBC's decision to call the home of the Winter Olympics by its indigenous pronunciation, Torino.

Critic Bob Mondello reviews the newly released special-edition DVD for The Wizard of Oz. The three-disc set includes documentaries, outtakes and other special features. He says watching the classic film brought back many memories.

Reminders of the Hindu faith are everywhere in Vrindavan — countless temples line the streets and pilgrims march in devotion. There is also stark, third-world poverty and suffering. But for the faithful, the city is a manifestation of heaven, here on Earth.

In contrast to her earlier ruling in the Zacarias Moussaoui sentencing trail, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema says the government may present new witnesses from the aviation industry, but not the ones who were tainted by a government lawyer who told them what to say under oath.

A federal appeals court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency acted illegally when it issued new air-pollution rules for power plants and factories. The three-judge panel says the rules allowing plants to modernize without installing pollution-control equipment violated the Clean Air Act.

The National Academies releases its report on whether the Environmental Protection Agency is allowing unsafe levels of fluoride in America's drinking water.

FIFA, the world's governing body for soccer, and Electronic Arts have announced an end to their partnership that's created best selling videogames.

Lionel Ziprin is running out of time to make good on his promise to share his grandfather's traditional Jewish music with the world. Rabbi Nuftali Zvi Margolies Abulafia was recored by famed ethnomusicologist Harry Smith in the 1950s.

General Motors and Delphi, its former subsidiary, will offer early retirement and buy-out packages to more than 100,000 workers. In a deal negotiated with the United Auto Workers union, GM will offer incentives ranging from $35,000 to $140,000 each. While some workers said they were waiting to see the details, many said they doubted the package was attractive enough to induce them to retire. Jerome Vaughn of Detroit Public Radio reports.

Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Politico's Helena Bottemiller Evich about the reasons behind the national shortage of baby formula.

A widespread drought is killing the livelihoods of pastoral nomads in the region known as the Horn of Africa. Cows, goats and other livestock have all died due to the water shortage. The devastation poses the question of whether the lifestyle of pastoralists -- who move between Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia foraging for food and water for their herds -- can be sustained.

In Casas Grandes, Mexico, lives one of the great characters of the borderlands -- an old horse trainer who arranges marriages between lonely American men and willing Mexican women. He's now the subject of a documentary film called Cowboy del Amor.

Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says the quarrel about port operations is a case of globalization meets xenophobia.

Republican and Democrat lawmakers on Capitol Hill are calling for a halt to a deal that hands over operations at six U.S. ports to a company owned by Dubai. President Bush threatened to veto any legislation seeking to delay the $6.8 billion takeover. A look at why the transaction is so controversial.

The story of Danny and Annie Perasa — how they met, and how they've stayed in love — inspires many who hear it. At a recent ceremony to honor the couple, they gave new insights into their relationship.

Had she, in a just world, been nominated, Naomi Watts this Sunday would be accepting a best actress award for her role in King Kong, says Neda Ulaby. Herewith, an impassioned case for why Watts' performance makes her a giant among actresses.

Iraq's national security adviser, Moaffak al-Rubaie, talks to Melissa Block about the violence that has engulfed Iraq after yesterday's bombing of the Shiite Golden Mosque in Samarra.