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Minton Sparks is a poet, storyteller and performance artist rolled into one, and her new recording, Sin Sick, offers tales tall and small, dark and whimsical, drawing on characters from her native Tennessee and the South.

President Bush visits the Gulf Coast again, pledging to help clean up the region. Also, Vice Admiral Thad Allen, director of federal relief efforts, discusses plans being developed for Hurricane Rita, damage to New Orleans' levee system and clashes with Mayor Ray Nagin.

Millions of Afghans vote for a new parliament despite the surge of violence in the weeks leading to the election. There were reportedly several dozen Taliban attacks in the country's south and east, and two rockets landed near an election center in Kabul. But officials said the election overall was remarkably peaceful.

Public schools in New Orleans were devastated, as were the region's Catholic schools. And the Baton Rouge Catholic school system is struggling to accommodate evacuee families in this heavily Catholic region.

NASA releases plans for a new spacecraft that would replace the space shuttle. The vehicle is part of a system that will be capable of putting astronauts on the moon by 2018, laying the groundwork for space travel to Mars. NASA says the new system is designed to be 10 times safer than the space shuttle.

The Senate Judiciary Committee concluded its questioning of Chief Justice nominee John Roberts last week, and his confirmation seems almost certain. Alex Chadwick talks with Slate contributor Dahlia Lithwick about how Roberts' smooth performance may pave the way for future Supreme Court nominees.

Farai Chideya talks with Stevie Wonder about his first album in 10 years, A Time to Love. The CD features duets with gospel singer Kim Burrell, soul diva India.Arie, Wonder's own daughter Aisha Morris and a galaxy of stars backing him up in the studio.

Scallop season has started in the tiny port town of Port en Bessin, Normandy. France is the world's largest consumer of scallops, giving local fishermen a lucrative domestic market. But a dispute over the naming of imported scallops has many fishermen from Normandy crying foul.

Alan Cheuse reviews E. L. Doctorow's latest novel, The March. It chronicles Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman's devastating march through Georgia and the Carolinas during the Civil War.

Alex Chadwick speaks to Slate political blogger Mickey Kaus about New York Times reporter Judith Miller, one of the key players in the investigation into who leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame to the media. She has testified before a grand jury investigating the leak, but has been less than forthcoming to her fellow journalists at The New York Times.