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Tourists and townsfolk alike are dancing to the beats of the Jazz Festival in New Orleans. It's the first major music festival in the city since Hurricane Katrina struck last year. So far, ticket sales have been brisk.

We hear one of the last pieces performed by mezzo soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson — a series of Pablo Neruda's love sonnets set to music by her husband, composer Peter Lieberson. Hunt Lieberson died earlier this week. She was 52.

Novels by Matthew Pearl and Louis Bayard fold elements of literary history into the mystery genre. Fittingly, both feature details from the life of the man who introduced the world to tales of ratiocination: Edgar Allan Poe.

In the first of a series of interviews with strategists who suggest plans to end U.S. involvement in Iraq, Zbigniew Brzezinski -- national security advisor to President Carter -- details a four-point program for disengagement.

The Jayhawks may have called it quits after two decades of pioneering alt-country music. But even as drummer and multi-dimensional musician Tim O'Reagan trots out a self-titled CD, he's joined by several Jayhawks alumni.

With daily violence, a dead economy, health-care system in crisis, corruption, sabotage, chronic shortages of water and gas, and almost no public services, the Iraqi government has more than its share of problems to address. But a few months into their first year in office, most of the government is on a monthlong vacation.

Law enforcement officials say they've thwarted a plan by foreign terrorists to bomb a tunnel that connects New York City and New Jersey. The planners reportedly wanted to blow up the Holland Tunnel in the hopes of flooding lower Manhattan.

Three more British men arrested in the plot to blow up American-bound airliners have been arraigned and denied bail. Of the two dozen people originally arrested in the plot, fifteen are facing charges. Five others remain in custody for further questioning.

Gay-marriage supporters suffered two high-profile defeats in recent days. More legal battles are ahead. What's next for activists on each side? Brad Sears, an advocate of same-sex marriage, gives Sheilah Kast his view.

In the desert south of Las Vegas, crews are assembling a giant array of curved mirrors. The Nevada Solar One project will use the sun to power a steam turbine that, in turn, will create electricity for 40,000 homes.

Legendary journalist Daniel Schorr, NPR senior news analyst, is celebrating his 90th birthday. He recalls some of his earliest exploits in journalism: from his first scoop as a 12-year-old to how he became a news reporter instead of a music critic.

Four American soldiers have been arrested for allegedly participating in the rape and murder of a young Iraqi and her family in March. The charges follow the earlier arrest of Stephen Green, discharged from the Army for a personality disorder, for the same incident.

Delirious Italian fans celebrate Italy's first World Cup title in 24 years, and its fourth overall. The Italians beat France on penalty kicks Sunday night in Berlin. The win comes with the backdrop of a domestic match-fixing scandal that has rocked Italian professional soccer.

With Tehran making it clear that it won't curtail its nuclear program, the country faces possible U.N.-levied sanctions. Tehran seems to be betting that it can survive sanctions because of its vast oil reserves -- and oil prices that are hovering around $70 a barrel. It also has the support of countries like Russia and China.

Youth Radio reporter Jazmine Livingston is a California student who thinks an "exit exam" is a valid requirement for graduation. The college-bound high school senior feels that all students have plenty of time and assistance to prepare for the test -- and if they can't pass, they shouldn't graduate.

Mortgage rates are on their way back down again, just as the housing market seems to be cooling in many markets around the country. Figures out this week from Freddie Mac show the average rate on a 30-year fixed loan to be 6.4 percent, down from 6.8 percent a month ago.

Mickey Mouse is a famous cartoon character, perhaps the most famous. But there is also the phrase "mickey mouse," which may be traced back to the slang of World War II. But it's a bit of slang that falls into a gray area rarely visited by lexicographers.

The President speaks to the American Legion convention in Salt Lake City, the first of five scheduled policy speeches on the struggle against terrorism. The White House said it is the first in a series of speeches about the war on terrorism that will lead up to the president's address to the United Nations next month.

Army Spc. Mark Wilkerson served for a year in Iraq, and was scheduled to return for another tour of duty. The Army denied his request for conscientious-objector status, so he disappeared for 18 months. On Thursday, Wilkerson returned to his base in Ford Hood, Texas, to turn himself in.

The man who claimed responsibility for the bloody Beslan school siege is dead, according to the Russian government. Officials say Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev was killed as he was planning an attack to coincide with this week's G8 summit in St. Petersburg.

Commentator James Reston Jr. describes his frustration with federal limits on stem-cell research. His daughter has a transplanted kidney, and he fears she will need another transplant in a few years. Reston thinks stem-cell technology could help speed up research about growing new kidneys artificially.

Director Richard Linklater's adaptation of the Philip K. Dick novel A Scanner Darkly stars Keanu Reeves. It was produced by filming live actors, and rendering the images in a painting-like animation process. Bob Mondello reviews.

Human language research has come a long way since philosophers of the 1700s started thinking about communication. But scientists and scholars still pose many questions about the origins of language and how humans acquire speech.

Hezbollah militants continue to fire rockets from southern Lebanon into Israeli towns and cities across the border. Two Israelis were killed, and more than 100 wounded, in Katyusha rocket attacks on Thursday.

Unlike autism, people with Williams Syndrome are very talkative and outgoing. They're described as "overfriendly." But while they love to talk, they often end up missing the point in a conversation. Scientists say the disorder illustrates the social roots of why we talk.