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Steve Ryfle is a former Los Angeles Times reporter. Fifty years ago Godzilla, Japan's giant radioactive reptile, made his first film appearance. Japanese director Ishiro Honda made the original Godzilla movie in 1954. The film is coming back to theaters in a new uncut version. Ryfle's book about Godzilla is Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of 'The Big G.'

The American Friends Service Committee assembles nearly 800 pairs of combat boots on Capitol Hill, demonstrating the sacrifice of U.S. soldiers. The Quaker organization placed the boots in rows to commemorate the American soldiers killed in Iraq. NPR's David Welna reports.

Nancy Solomon reports from southern New Jersey on reaction to Paul Johnson's beheading death at the hands of al Qaeda kidnappers in Saudi Arabia. Johnson's family had been holding a vigil in his New Jersey hometown, pleading with the kidnappers for his safe return.

The nation bid farewell to President Ronald Reagan Friday at a funeral service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Attended by four former presidents and dignitaries from around the world, the funeral capped a week of public mourning. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

Nearly 6,000 teenagers die each year in alcohol-related car accidents in the United States. A program aimed at high-school students forces participants to confront the consequences of drunk driving. Kathryn Baron of members station KQED reports from San Francisco.

In the final Radio Expeditions story on voodoo in West Africa, reporter John Burnett talks to defenders and critics of the religion. While voodoo is often condemned as superstition or worse, its practitioners say the good it can do for believers far outweighs the bad.

CIA director George Tenet defends intelligence his agency compiled on Iraq. Reacting to weeks of public accusations that a major intelligence failure had preceded the war in Iraq, Tenet insists the CIA never twisted its assessments of Iraq's military capabilities to suit political concerns. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports.

Public service advertisements are at the center of the latest battle over the Medicare prescription-drug benefit, which became law more than two months ago. Republicans say the ads are educational. Democrats call them taxpayer-financed propaganda that misrepresents how much seniors will save. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

His new book is The Working Poor: Invisible in America. Shipler is a former reporter for The New York Times. He's also written for The New Yorker, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. His book Arab and Jews: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land won the Pulitzer Prize.

Massachusetts lawmakers suspend debate on amending the state constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage. Lawmakers debated for two days, but failed to come to a compromise that would please both opponents of full marriage rights for same-sex couples and gay rights activists. The constitutional convention will resume March 11. NPR's Tovia Smith reports.