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NPR's Jackie Northam reports from Davenport, Iowa as it braces against rising floodwaters of the Mississippi River. Residents of Davenport have chosen not to build a permanent floodwall and now federal officials say taxpayers shouldn't have to rescue their riverfront.

David Schaper of member station WBEZ in Chicago reports that gas prices are up sharply in the Midwest, rising $.20 or more in the past two weeks.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission meets tomorrow to consider a plan to ease California's power crisis. The commission may back off from its opposition to electricity price caps by approving temporary caps during power emergencies. NPR's Richard Gonzales reports.

NPR's Debbie Elliott reports from Birmingham that testimony started today in the trial of Thomas Blanton Jr., who is charged with murder in the civil-rights-era bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Four girls died in the blast in 1963.

Robert Siegel talks with Mike Moore, attorney general for Mississippi, about the settlement of a lawsuit against the state of Mississippi. The lawsuit was brought by a group of African-Americans trying to improve the academic programs at Mississippi's black universities.

Scott Aiges reviews the new CD from The Blind Boys of Alabama, called Spirit of the Century. All of the band members are in their 70s, and got their name when they started singing together at the Talledega Institute for the Blind in 1939. They have always sung in the traditional jubilee style -- hymns, spirituals and other Christian music -- with tight harmonies and little if any accompaniment. The new CD puts a fresh new spin on old-time religious music. (5:00) Spirit of the Century by the Blind Boys of Alabama is on Realworld records, catalog # 70876-15319-2-3.

A New Zealand air force plane returned safely today to Christchurch after retrieving four ill Americans and seven other U.S. staffers from a frigid research station near Antarctica's coast. A second perilous rescue mission to the bottom of the world is now underway. An eight-seat Twin Otter plane has landed at the South Pole to evacuate a sick American doctor. Antarctica's harsh, dark winter conditions usually preclude flights in or out. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

Robert Siegel talks with Lin Yu-Fang, associate professor of International Studies Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taipei, Taiwan. They discuss the arms sale from the U.S. to Taiwan, and how it's being received in Taipei.

NPR's Jim Zarroli reports consumer confidence slipped again in April. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index has fallen six of the last seven months and fell more in April than expected. The Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates in a bid to keep the economy from falling into recession. Today's report indicates that consumers are still worried about the economy.

Students at Harvard rallied today to demand "a living wage" of $10.25 an hour for the university's lowest paid workers. Their week long sit-in has attracted support from the state's two Democratic senators, as well as national union officials and the NAACP. NPR's Philip Martin has a report.