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Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) says he will step down as Senate Republican leader following a furor over remarks that seemed to endorse America's segregated past. Lott faced a Jan. 6 vote on his status as incoming majority leader and a challenge for the post from Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN). Hear from NPR's Alex Chadwick and NPR's David Welna.

The Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 in Game 2 of the World Series, taking a 2-0 overall lead. Boston pitcher Curt Schilling helped lead his team to victory, despite a painful ankle injury that left him limping and threatened to end his season. Hear NPR's Tom Goldman.

While the Walt Disney Concert Hall has been open since October 2003, the dramatic organ was not ready until this fall. A design collaboration between Gehry and organ builder Manuel Rosales, the 6,134-pipe organ is a dramatic centerpiece to the venue. NPR's Fred Child visits the hall.

Jacob Chandler successfully arranged letters "A" through "Z" in 2 minutes and 8.6 seconds. Chandler says he was inspired to take on the challenge to show his son that anything is possible.

More than 20 million workers earn less than $9 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At those levels, many people have trouble making a living. In Corbin, Ky., NPR's Noah Adams talks with 24-year-old Marshall Cox, who earns $6.25 an hour as a fast-food worker but dreams of pursuing a career in drafting.

In the 1950s Dickie Goodman took bits of pop songs, cut them up like a collage with voices telling wacky stories of flying saucers and gave birth to a new form of novelty records. Goodman continued making these records until the late 1980s and they became small time capsules of culture. Jon Goodman has an appreciation of the "King of Novelty." (6:15) Jon Goodman's book is called The King of Novelty. Jon Goodman's CD of novelty tunes is called 25 All-time Novelty Hits and includes some of Dickie Goodman's work. See http://www.varesesarabande.com.

President Bush turns 60 years old on July 6. Whether or not you get invited to his party, you can send him a greeting. A New York City performance artist is traveling the country, collecting people's thoughts so they can share them with the president.

Wal-Mart is a business with 1.6 million employees in the United States alone. It does more business than Target, Sears, Kmart, J.C. Penney, Safeway, and Kroger combined. And more than half of all Americans live within 5 miles of a Wal-Mart store. David Gardner talks about the big, big business of Wal-Mart with Charles Fishman, author of The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works - and How It's Transforming the American Economy.

A drug war is raging across the border. Over 6,000 people were killed in drug-related violence in Mexico last year. The body count is mounting, and the violence is spilling into the United States. Tony Cox explores how U.S. officials are addressing the growing crisis. Plus, how can travelers stay out of danger?

The U.S. economy continues to spiral downward. A report released Friday by the Commerce Department shows that the economy contracted at the end of last year by the fastest pace since 1982. This puts even more pressure on President Barack Obama, who this week presented his $3.6 trillion budget proposal. Saturday morning, the president said he knows he faces an uphill battle.