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Journalist and musician JAMES MCBRIDE. His recent book, is "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to his White Mother" (Riverhead) about his mother who was white and Jewish, but refused to admit her race. MCBRIDE's father was black. For years, MCBRIDE knew nothing about his mother's early life. It wasn't until he started work on the book, that she opened up to tell him that her father was a failed itinerant Orthodox rabbi in rural Virginia, a racist, and he sexually abused her. MCBRIDE has written for "The Washington Post," "The Boston Globe," and "People" magazine

The race for New Orleans mayor will be decided on Saturday. Voters displaced by Hurricane Katrina will be able to cast absentee ballots until the polls close.

Country crooner Brad Paisley doesn't believe in taking himself too seriously. One of the songs on his new CD, Time Well Wasted, laments the needless death of flowers in the name of love.

Despite what his supporters say, President Bush has far more in common with Richard Nixon than Ronald Reagan. That's the idea put forth in economist and syndicated columnist Bruce Bartlett's new book, Impostor.

The White House is sending a complicated message about its intentions toward Iran. Daniel Schorr, senior news analyst for NPR, says the administration is attempting to convince Iran that military action is possible, while trying to convince Americans that military action is highly improbable.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has delayed indefinitely making a decision on whether the emergency contraceptive Plan B should be sold over the counter, prompting the resignation of Susan Wood, the agency's director of women's health. Are there legitimate safety concerns or has ideology trumped science, as some critics claim?

A new book uncovers the research of John Work, who accompanied folklorist Alan Lomax on a trip to the Mississippi Delta in the early 1940s. They documented the music heard in churches, blues joints and cotton fields of the South.

The Smithsonian's newest museum is dedicated to one of the hemisphere's oldest subjects, the history and culture of Native Americans. NPR's Juan Williams tours the National Museum of the American Indian, which opens in Washington, D.C., in September.

We continue our summer reading series with a profile of musician Aimee Mann. In the 1980s, she fronted the pop group Til Tuesday. Her haunting ballad "Save Me," from the 1999 film Magnolia earned her an Academy Award nomination. Before she kicked off her summer concert tour, she spoke about the kind of books she'll pick up before leaving town.

Vice President Dick Cheney, House Chaplain Rev. Daniel P. Coughlin and Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert speak at a memorial service for former President Ronald Reagan at the Capitol Rotunda. Reagan's body will lie in state for public visitation until Friday. Hear NPR's Michele Norris, NPR's Andrea Seabrook and NPR's Pam Fessler.