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A man, a woman, a house and a pitchfork. Those four elements make Grant Wood's depression-era painting, American Gothic, instantly recognizable and easily mimicked. As part of the Present at the Creation series, NPR's Melissa Gray reports on the painting that launched a thousand parodies. Image at left courtesy Art Institute of Chicago.

The Amsterdam, a ship of the Holland America line, cancels a Caribbean cruise and returns to port. Hundreds have suffered from a stomach virus during the liner's past four voyages. The ship will be sanitized. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.

Lynn Neary talks with reporter Melanie Peeples, who is in Carbon Hill, Ala., about the destruction there from last night's tornadoes. As many as three twisters hit the area, killing seven people, felling trees and power lines, and damaging homes.

While more states are banning gay marriages, more gay couples are living together long-term. More are also splitting up. NPR's Tovia Smith reports on the travails of gay couples in long-term relationships who split up -- with no legal referee to guide decisions of property rights and child custody.

Federal Reserve policymakers cut interest rates by half a percentage point to levels not seen since the early 1960s. But some economists don't believe the cut will help jumpstart the sluggish economy. NPR's Jack Speer reports.

In Colombia, a judge orders the release of Gilberto Rodriguez, imprisoned as one of the country's top drug lords. Investigators scramble to find evidence to bring fresh charges -- and possibly to support Rodriguez's extradition to the United States. Steven Dudley reports.

U.N. Security Council members await the latest revised draft resolution on Iraq from the United States. Meanwhile, President Bush is warning that Iraq could "provide an arsenal" to terrorist groups. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.

Small businesses face sharply higher premiums for property, liability and health insurance. A trade group says the average cost of business insurance has jumped by 30-percent. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Psychologists in a hospital in Buenos Aires are trying to help their patients cope by putting them in front of a microphone. As NPR's Martin Kaste reports, on Radio La Colifata, or Crazy Radio, you can listen in as patients chitchat about popular culture, play their favorite songs, and even try to explain what lead them to a breakdown.

Tax cuts remain high on the Republican agenda for the new Congress. The Bush administration hopes to make permanent a $1.3-trillion tax cut passed by Congress last year. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.