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Numerous levees have already failed to hold back floodwaters in parts of the Midwest this week. The federal government says many more are likely to be topped. Engineering experts agree the nation's levee system needs a second look. Adriene Hill of Chicago Public Radio reports.

Mechanical engineer Don Gilmore has the key to a persistent musical problem: how to keep a piano perpetually in tune. The top-selling line of Story-Clark grand pianos will soon be outfitted with Gilmore's self-tuning device. Hear from Gilmore and NPR's John Ydstie.

She edited such films as The Hustler, Bonnie and Clyde, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Wonder Boys, which has just been re-released. Her Hollywood career began in the 1940s as an apprentice editor. Today shes arguably the highest paid and one of the top five film editors in the business. Allens been nominated twice for Academy awards.

Oregon's college football teams are accustomed to losing. But they are laughing stocks no more. This season, as NPR's Tom Goldman reports, the University of Oregon and Oregon State University are both ranked in the top 15. The Ducks and the Beavers don't have fearsome nicknames, but the two schools could square off in one of the most important games in Oregon's history --- for a berth in the Rose Bowl.

The top two Democrats in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, unveil what they called a "pre-buttal" in advance of President Bush's State of the Union address, which will be given Wednesday evening.

As Robert Iger prepares to take over the top position at Walt Disney Co., he must step out of the shadow cast by current chief Michael Eisner. Eisner is scheduled to step down in the fall after a period of transition.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle becomes the first Senate leader in half a century to lose a bid for re-election. Republicans had made the Democrat's defeat one of their top priorities and threw powerful support behind the challenger, John Thune. Hear NPR's David Welna.

Teach for America is attracting a record number of applicants this year. The program recruits top college graduates to spend two years teaching in low-income public schools. At Dartmouth College alone, 11 percent of the entire senior class has applied.

Bob Dylan's new album, Modern Times, hit the top of the record charts last week. Now 65, the singer-songwriter continues to explore blues and older pop styles with lyrics that frequently contain contemporary references.

A new study ranks 64 of America's largest cities by their commitment to literacy. Minneapolis, Seattle and Denver top the list, which was compiled based on the availability and number of booksellers, quality of libraries, educational level of the population, number of periodicals published and newspaper circulation. Hear the study's author, John Miller.