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In 1943, the government promised to build a highway through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park -- in part to provide access to some old cemeteries there. But the highway was never finished, and there's disagreement about whether it should be now.

Ben Bernanke is on Capitol Hill delivering his first economic report to Congress since becoming chairman of the Federal Reserve. Bernanke told lawmakers that "economic expansion remains on track" and left open the possibility that interest rates would go up. Renee Montagne talks to David Wessel, The Wall Street Journal's deputy Washington bureau chief.

President Bush toured the Gulf Coast Thursday, noting improvements since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. In New Orleans, the president did not tour any of the city's still-deserted neighborhoods, and protesters called for a stronger federal commitment to fortify the city's levees.

Federal crop insurance was created in the dust bowl days of the 1930s to help farmers survive the ravages of nature. But changes in the program have created a new type of farmer: one who farms only for the insurance money.

Attorneys Douglas Cox and Sarah Haven travel to Yemen, where the families of their clients tell their side of the story -- adding texture and details to a still-partial picture of where the detainees came from, and why they are held as "enemy combatants." One detainee's mother says her tears "are like heavy rain" ever since her son's capture.

Sami Abdelshafi, co-founder and senior partner of Emerge Consulting Group, is cautiously optimistic about the new Gaza border-crossing agreement between the Palestinian people and Israel. Abdelshafi's company provides economic analysis to businesses, government groups and non-profits operating in Gaza.

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Mayor Byron Brown as the investigation gets underway into Saturday's mass shooting. At least 10 people were killed.

In Pennsylvania, hunters are pushing for a return to an ancient way of killing their prey. Recently, the state's game commission gave preliminary approval to a deer-hunting season for the atlatl -- a prehistoric weapon once used to bring down woolly mammoths.

Robert Siegel talks with Stephen Cohen, national scholar for the Israel Policy Forum, about the Gaza deal.

The Iraqi government announces an investigation into the abuse and torture of more than 170 prisoners held at a Ministry of Interior detention center in Baghdad. Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said one of his top deputies has been appointed to conduct the probe.