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The plane flown by Capt. Ricardo Fajardo has been around for nearly 70 years, ever since it was built in California by the Douglas Aircraft Co. at the height of World War II.

But as a red and orange DC-3 hugs the treetops and skims past the Vaupes River in the remote southeastern corner of Colombia, Fajardo says he wouldn't feel more comfortable in any other plane.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. If you've been listening to the soundbites from the campaign trail lately, you'll have noticed all the talk of grits and deep fried food. Well, today is Southern Tuesday. Republicans in Alabama and Mississippi are voting in their primaries. Hawaii and American Samoa are also holding caucuses. The question is whether these elections might be the long-awaited turning point in the race for the GOP presidential nomination.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

This incident and others are causing a lot of debate in the U.S. about why we remain in Afghanistan. Is there something yet to be gained there, or has the U.S. squandered any goodwill that it had? Might it be best to pull out sooner than planned, as some Republican presidential candidates are now advocating? Well, today, President Obama said he stands by his Afghanistan policy.

Could Georgetown University students like Sandra Fluke have to wait an extra year for free birth control?

There's a reason to ask the question.

Fluke, in case you missed it somehow, is the law student who testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee last month about the importance of providing free contraceptive services to students and others at religiously affiliated institutions.

Citing an economy that is "expanding moderately," an improving labor market and subdued inflation — but a housing sector that "remains depressed" — the Federal Reserve just announced it is holding to its current policy on short-term interest rates.

The central bank's policymakers also said they expect "moderate economic growth over coming quarters" and that the jobless rate will continue to "decline gradually."