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NPR's Alison MacAdam tells the story of getting in touch with her best friend from kindergarten, Scott Hoffman, who is now a sensation in a disco-rock band called The Scissor Sisters. Hoffman explains how he uses music to fill the voids he felt growing up in Lexington, Ky.

A funeral mass is held for the first New York firefighter to die in combat in Iraq. Sgt. Christian Engeldrum was among the rescuers who responded to the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001 and served in New York's National Guard. Richard Hake of member station WNYC reports.

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission plans to resign. Michael Powell achieved name recognition with the general public due to the huge fines levied by the FCC against the owners of radio and TV stations in the name of decency.

For some of the thousands living in the United States, casting a vote in Iraq's Jan. 30 elections means driving thousands of miles. Detroit, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington and Nashville, Tenn., are the only polling sites.

Audio book sales are increasing at a double-digit rate, making up a healthy chunk of a title's revenue. As Lynn Neary reports, popular books like the Harry Potter series have done well — and expanded consumer awareness of audio books in the process.

Johnny Carson died Sunday at the age of 79. Carson was best known as the host of the Tonight Show, where he brought the popular late-night talk show to new heights over a 30-year career.

The Senate votes 89-2 to approve a sweeping intelligence reform bill, one day after approval in the House. The bill now goes to President Bush for his signature. The difficulty of the task was apparent from the beginning, when the Sept. 11 commission made broad recommendations involving major changes to the status quo. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

Randy Cohen, New York Times Sunday Magazine ethicist, has some advice for a soccer mom on how to deal with a ringer on her son's team. The team had a losing record, so the coach brought in a bigger, older kid to play under an assumed name.

The European Space Administration mission to land a probe on the Saturn moon of Titan was saved from near disaster just a few weeks before it arrived. The discovery of a fatal design flaw in the probe's radio relay led to a scramble to save the mission.

Miami's New World Symphony offers a unique educational environment for talented young musicians. The artists have all their expenses paid while they play a concert season, build their repertoires and study with veteran conductors. But the symphony fellowships don't just stop at musical training. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.