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With gas prices passing $3 a gallon, accusations of price-gouging are common. But what exactly is price-gouging? How is it defined? And are the oil companies guilty of it?

As the Bush administration considers a new "guest worker" program for immigrants, a Smithsonian Institution initiative is documenting the experiences of thousands of Mexicans who worked in the United States as part the now-defunct "bracero" guest worker program.

David Festa, the director of Oceans Programs at the nonprofit organization, Environmental Defense, talks with Robert Siegel about the conservation work of Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws. Benchley died Saturday at age 65.

Authorities have suspended vote-counting one week after Haiti's presidential election. Front-runner Rene Preval claimed that massive fraud was preventing him from winning in the first round. Thousands of Preval's supporters held a demonstration Tuesday night after burned ballots were found smoldering on a dump.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) continue their analysis of Wednesday's hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.

Growing reports of police abuse prompt Iraq's Interior Ministry to set up a new unit to investigate charges of murder and other abuse by security forces. The United States is shifting resources to deal with the emerging internal crisis.

The prospects of Judge Samuel Alito winning confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court will probably rest with a group of senators known as the Gang of 14. Political Editor Ken Rudin looks at the group of seven Republican and seven Democratic senators who forged a Senate deal on judicial filibusters.

The Pentagon has ordered a review of a security database built after the Sept. 11 attacks to help protect military bases and personnel. But reports have emerged that the database includes information about anti-war activists and people opposed to military recruiting.

Insurers say prior authorization requirements are intended to reduce wasteful and inappropriate health care spending. But they can baffle patients waiting for approval. And doctors say that insurers have yet to follow through on commitments to improve the process.

A powerful Chicago alderman has proposed that the city become the first in the United States to ban the use of trans fats in restaurants. Trans fats are considered the most unhealthy of all cooking oils. Michele Norris gets the skinny on trans fats from Kim Severson, a New York Times reporter and author of The Trans Fats Solution: Cooking and Shopping to Eliminate the Deadliest Fat from Your Diet.

After last summer's devastating hurricanes, emergency relief for the Gulf Coast's seafood industry has been slow. The appropriations are still held up by Congress, and the industry hasn't seen a penny of federal money for industry rehabilitation. Mike Voisin, CEO of Motivatit Seafoods in Houma, La., talks with Liane Hansen.

Commentator Julie Zickefoose is a rural birdwatcher. One of the signature sounds of spring's arrival is the song of the brown thrasher. If you listen closely, the bird seems to be sending out orders. Julie Zickefoose listens and obeys.

A recent report from the Russell Sage Foundation finds the U.S. government has neglected black neighborhoods in the eight months since Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. Ed Gordon talks with Beverly Wright, director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University in New Orleans, and Robert Bullard, director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, about the report, which they co-authored.

One company has abandoned the concept of a regular workday. Best Buy, the giant retailer of electronics, is encouraging much of its corporate staff to work whatever hours they want, and to do so wherever they please. The company says productivity is booming.

Patients with Alzheimer's disease show clear damage to their brains as they age. But some have wondered whether this damage is a cause of the disease or a result of it. Scientists at the University of Minnesota have found a protein that appears to cause memory loss before brain damage appears.

The New Orleans mayoral election is scheduled for April 22, but there are concerns many city residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina will be left out of the voting process. Farai Chideya talks to Louisiana Secretary of State Al Ater, who is helping registered voters cast ballots in the upcoming election.

Abortion rights advocates have announced a petition drive in South Dakota calling for a rejection of an abortion law recently signed by the governor. It would be the most restrictive such law in the nation.

Bayou La Batre, Ala., has been a Gulf Coast fishing hub for a century. But Hurricane Katrina made a shambles of the town's livelihood. Now 2,300 people are struggling to cope with present conditions in the face of an uncertain future.

Faster processors, better graphics -- and a cooler design -- are on display at the 2006 E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) in Los Angeles, where Sony, Nintendo and other video game makers try to impress attendees. Among the hits so far: a Playstation 3 demo and Nintendo's Wii.

Burning oil, coal and other fossil fuels releases plumes of tiny, dangerous particles. A new study estimates that eliminating that pollution would save about 50,000 lives in the U.S. each year.

Some of the technology used to treat Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro is new to the world of horse racing. Barbaro suffered a broken leg at the Preakness during the weekend, putting his life in danger. But a major operation on his leg may save the horse's life.

President Bush flies to Yuma, Ariz., to talk about his plans for slowing illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Tighter border enforcement elsewhere has increased illegal crossings in this area not previously known as a hotbed of smuggling.

New Orleans politicians are deep into campaign mode for the April 22 citywide election. It's a strange campaign because half the potential voters are scattered around the country. The state has made some accommodations, setting up "satellite" polling stations in other Louisiana cities.

The hair of Hindu women shorn in a religious pilgrimage in India is finding new life thousands of miles away as hair extensions in fashion-conscious Los Angeles.

Insurgent attacks appear to be growing in Iraq, less than two weeks before scheduled national elections. Nineteen Iraqis died Saturday in one attack, and 10 U.S. Marines were killed in Fallujah earlier in the week.