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The highly anticipated sixth installment of J.K. Rowling's novel about a child wizard was released Saturday. NPR's Neva Grant followed two youngsters who spent the weekend immersed in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Tom Wopat — yep, good ol' Luke Duke — has worked hard to avoid letting one role define his career. He's a Broadway success, and now comes a CD of Harold Arlen standards.

Michele Norris talks with Jim Ginavan, director of the non-profit Oz Museum in Wamego, Kan., about a pair of original ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz that were stolen last month from a children's museum in Grand Rapids, Minn. Ginavan is coordinating this year's Oztoberfest -- a Dorothy-themed celebration that, for now, will go on without her iconic ruby slippers.

As residents flee the Gulf Coast region, the governors of Texas and Louisiana ask President Bush for federal troops as they prepare for Hurricane Rita. The Category 4 storm is expected to make landfall by Saturday, and officials have urged coastal residents to evacuate far inland.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden say it's the second-largest consumer settlement in state history.

Think of hits by 1960s girl groups and The Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" or The Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" come to mind. But what about "Needle in a Haystack" by the Velvelettes, or "I Never Dreamed" by The Cookies? A new boxed set compiles some of the forgotten gems of the era.

For decades building American cars was a family affair. Children followed their parents into the auto plants, where generous union-negotiated wages lifted them into the middle class. Now that tradition is in jeopardy.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discusses Thursday's parliamentary elections in Iraq, the war and the eventual withdrawal of U.S. troops. He says much hard work lies ahead for Iraqis to build their own government and security forces.

The four members of Winterpills deliver melodies that draw on influences as diverse (and yet harmonious) as the Beatles, the Carter Family, Elliott Smith and Neil Young. Members of the group talk with Liane Hansen about their eponymous debut CD on Signature Sounds.

President Bush says he approved domestic spying on people with suspected terrorist links without court warrants because it was "a necessary part of my job to protect" Americans from attack. At a press briefing, he said he would continue the program as long as the country faced terrorist threats.