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Gas prices are soaring across the country, but particularly in California. Fuel in the San Francisco Bay Area has topped $3, though the hike has not caused an attendant spike in public transportation ridership.

A most unlikely CD has been close to the top of the Billboard charts recently. The Mars Volta, from Texas, somehow missed the news that progressive rock was nearly extinct. Their new CD, Frances the Mute, is a saga based on the diary of a child in search of a birth mother.

The Bush administration has made Social Security reform a top priority in its second term. In arguing for partial privatization of the system, the president and his supporters warn of dire consequences unless something is done. Bush's critics say he is arguing for overly drastic measures. NPR Don Gonyea reports.

Hes considered the top American male alpine snowboarder. In July 2000, he underwent a liver transplant to cure a serious and rare degenerative liver ailment. Klug was back on the slopes within months, competing in the World Cup races. Snowboarding made its Olympic debut at the 1998 Nagano games. Klug began skiing at the age of two. He was born and lives in Colorado. For more information, go to www.chrisklug.com.

Producer Ben Shapiro brings us another installment in the New York Works series, about jobs that are slowly disappearing from the city of New York. Today we meet Charlie Zimmerman, who works for Rosenwach Wood Tanks. Rosewach is one of the few companies left that maintains water tanks on top of many New York buildings.

Insurgents fire grenades at an Iraqi civil defense facility as Gen. John Abizaid, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East, visits. Abizaid was not hurt in the attack, which caused no American casualties. The attackers escaped. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Eric Westervelt.

Testifying before a judicial inquiry, top British intelligence official John Scarlett denies that his office was pressured by Prime Minister Tony Blair's staff to exaggerate evidence showing that Iraq posed an imminent threat to Britain. New polls suggest 67 percent of Britons believe Blair misled the public about the Iraqi threat. Hear NPR's Guy Raz.

Top officials from the Bush and Clinton administrations tell the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks that they had no specific intelligence before the attacks suggesting terrorists might hijack airliners and crash them into the World Trade Center. But last year, Congress published a report saying a number of warnings detailing the attacks were ignored. Hear NPR's Danny Zwerdling.

President Bush insists that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will stay in his cabinet despite revelations of Iraqi prisoner abuse at the hands of U.S. troops. Top Democrats are calling for Rumsfeld to resign. The defense secretary is to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee Friday. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea, NPR's Michele Norris and Sen. Jeff Sessions.

Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ has astonished Hollywood by recording blockbuster ticket sales. The Passion remains the nation's top film for a second straight weekend, taking in $53.2 million. In the 12 days since its release, the film has earned a total of $213.9 million. NPR's Kim Masters reports.