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Shadowmancer, an allegorical novel for teens about the battle between good and evil, has become a British bestseller, been translated into 20 languages and optioned for the movies. In the United States, the book's publisher is declaring it 'hotter than Potter,' but some critics say first-time author G.P. Taylor's writing is no match for J.K. Rowling. Jeff Lunden reports.

NPR's Michele Norris talks with Don Hewitt, creator and longtime executive producer of the CBS News program 60 Minutes. Hewitt is leaving the show after 35 years. He reflects on the show and his half-century in television news.

A federal elections panel meets to examine the future of touch-screen voting machines, as several states reconsider the machines' reliability. Last week, concerns about accuracy prompted California's secretary of state to decertify 42,000 machines in 14 counties for the November election. John Myers of member station KQED reports.

In her new book, Georgetown University law professor Sheryll Cashin argues that modern segregation is often by choice -- a choice that involves finding a neighborhood that offers strong schools and safe streets. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Cashin.

Leaders from 22 Arab countries end a summit meeting in Tunis by adopting a plan for political and social reform. Dispute over the issue had delayed the Arab League session by two months. The promise of reforms led Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to leave the meetings Saturday. Hear NPR's Linda Wertheimer and New York Times reporter Neil MacFarquhar.

The first day of state-recognized same-sex marriage in the United States was a whirlwind for gay couples tying the knot in Massachusetts. Weddings took place from western Massachusetts to the tip of Cape Cod, with couples hailed as "pioneers." But the unions will not be recognized by the federal government or in most other states. Hear NPR's Tovia Smith and NPR's Robert Siegel.

In the latest allegation of abuse to emerge from Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi-born Swedish citizen says he's filed a compensation claim with the U.S. Army for torture he endured at the prison camp last fall. Now recuperating in the United States, Saleh -- who asked NPR not to use his first name -- says he also witnessed U.S. prison guards kill five inmates without provocation. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports. [Editor's note: This piece contains graphic language.]

Elvin Jones, a renowned drummer and member of the John Coltrane Quartet, died Tuesday in a New Jersey hospital of heart failure. He was 76. Jones' powerful, complex playing helped changed the role of the drummer in jazz groups and influenced a generation of rockers, including The Doors, the Grateful Dead and Santana. NPR's Renee Montagne has a remembrance.

In the second-part of a National Geographic Radio Expedition to the Sea of Cortez, NPR's John McChesney reports on the observations biologists have made along the coast, near the City of La Paz.

Best-selling author John Irving is known for creating sweeping narratives spiked with melodrama and full of vivid characters, complex plots and overwhelming information. It's easy to see why he credits his style to lessons in storytelling from Victorian author Charles Dickens. For Intersections, a series on artists' influences, NPR's Ketzel Levine reports.