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Actor Buddy Ebsen, best known for his role as Jed Clampett on the TV series The Beverly Hillbillies, dies at age 95. Ebsen, who started his career as a dancer on Broadway shows and MGM musicals in the 1930s, also starred as a private investigator in the 1970s TV show Barnaby Jones. NPR's Bob Edwards has a remembrance.

When Monica and Scott Fink got married, he was a phone company employee who spent one weekend a month in the National Guard. And then he was sent to Iraq. Scott Fink returned home this week, and Debbie Elliott has the first of a series following the Finks as they get used to life on the home front.

To combat the threat of roadside bombs in Iraq, U.S. military units are using mine sweepers called "buffalos" and other tools to try to find and disarm the explosives. But some soldiers remain frustrated by the limited options for fighting "improvised explosive devices."

Kidnappings are the latest scourge in the impoverished Caribbean nation of Haiti. Despite the presence of a 6,000-strong U.N. force, Haiti has seen a sharp increase in violence and kidnappings in recent months. The interim government, under Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, is desperate to establish a semblance of order before elections in November.

Blood Diamond

Mao: The Unknown Story was written by Jung Chang, who described the suffering of her family during the cultural revolution in the bestseller Wild Swans and her husband, the historian Jon Halliday.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Goodbye 'Full Focus' -- We're Sorry to See You Go

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died Thursday in a French hospital at age 75. Arafat helped found the Palestine Liberation Organization and dedicated much of his life to fighting for an independent Palestinian homeland. Arafat's funeral will be held Friday in Egypt. He'll be buried Saturday in Ramallah. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden.

Although decades apart, J. K. Rowlings