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Shades of Praise is an interracial gospel choir in New Orleans that has become locally famous as a symbol of racial harmony. The group was a common sight at stages and churches around town. Then came Hurricane Katrina, and suddenly this choir has found itself thrust into a new role.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) is at work on legislation covering a temporary-worker program and giving undocumented immigrants a chance to become legal. And Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) has alternative plans if Specter's effort fails.

Faced with less-than-coherent federal policy, some states are taking independent approaches to the question of illegal immigration. Mark K. Matthews of stateline.org gives Melissa Block a state-by-state rundown.

After 61 days of traveling across Arctic ice on skis, Mike Horn and Borge Ousland complete their unassisted trek to the North Pole — and become the first explorers to do so in winter, during complete darkness. They traveled 620 miles, reaching the North Pole on March 23.

The prosecution rests in the first phase of the Zacarias Moussaoui sentencing trial. Prosecutors, seeking the death penalty, needed to convince the jury that at least one person who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks could have been saved if Moussaoui had told authorities about his involvement with al-Qaida's plans.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators take to the streets of Los Angeles to protest legislation that would crack down on illegal immigration. The measure has already passed the House of Representatives. The Senate begins debate this week.

Angry over a bill that would crack down on illegal immigrants, marchers support a rival measure that would give legal status to most undocumented immigrants. They're getting a big push from Spanish-language media.

The Supreme Court produces a split decision over the protection of wetlands areas. The justices decided 5-4 that regulators may have misinterpreted the federal Clean Water Act when they refused to allow two Michigan property owners to build on wetlands they own.

Several gaffes characterized Thursday's meeting between President Bush and President Hu Jintao, from a vocal Falun Gong protester to a misidentification of China's governmental name. But the incidents weren't reported in the Chinese media -- partly to protect Hu's standing.

Novelist Muriel Spark, who died last week at the age of 88, was memorable not just for her writing (including the 1961 novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), but for her beloved pets.