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Poor CD sales and Internet theft of song files spell tough times for the mainstream music business, but it's a different story for musicians who reject the conventional "record label" business model. For these artists, the same trends that hurt the conventional recorded-music industry prove to be a boon for independent musicians and producers. Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers reports.

Director Neil Jordan brings a smoky, jazzy sensibility -- and some new twists -- to his remake of the classic 1955 French film, Bob Le Flambeur. But The Good Thief's best asset may be its star Nick Nolte, who portrays a "glorious wreck." NPR's Bob Mondello reports.

NPR's Ivan Amato reports on a curious phenomenon called stochastic resonance and how it might help improve the human sense of touch. When a tiny electric charge is applied to the fingertips, people are able to feel faint sensations they wouldn't otherwise be able to notice. It's a reversal of the accepted notion that electrical noise interferes with a signal. Diabetics and the elderly, who lose sensation and often fall as a result, could profit from application of this discovery.

Facing mounting protests and a threatened advertiser boycott, CBS won't broadcast the mini-series The Reagans, based on the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan during Ronald Reagan's presidency. The video biography has drawn fire from both Republicans and Democrats over its authenticity. Kim Masters reports.

Scott talks with retired Air Force Major Ted Morris about the time he spent on Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean. This past week, news reports identified Diego Garcia as a key staging facility for long range bombers operating over Afghanistan. Mr. Morris recalls Diego Garcia as a uniquely beautiful and relaxing place to serve during peacetime. Mr. Morris appreciates Diego Garcia on his website at http://www.zianet.com/tedmorris/.

NPR's Tom Goldman reports the International Skating Union is conducting an "internal assessment" of the controversial judging in this week's pairs skating competition. A skating union official confirmed that the American referee of the pairs competition has complained about pressure being applied to at least one of the judges in the competition. The Russian pair of Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze received the gold medal over Canadians Jamie Sale and David Pelletier on Monday, setting off the first major furor of the Winter Games.

Journalist Laura Blumenfeld is the author of the book, Revenge: A Story of Hope (Simon & Schuster). In 1986 her father was shot while visiting Israel. The bullet grazed his head. Ten years later, while a reporter for The Washington Post, Blumenfeld went in search of the shooter as a way to deal with her own feelings of revenge. She found his family who in turn led her to him. She developed a friendship with them, before they knew who she really was.

A majority of likely voters favors the idea of allowing people to invest some of their Social Security taxes in the stock market, according to the results of a bipartisan survey. That surprising result is part of a poll on American attitudes toward retirement security -- the first of several surveys to be conducted for NPR this year by two private polling outfits, one Republican, one Democrat. Mara Liasson reports for Morning Edition.

The pursuit of terrorists in Afghanistan -- and possibly other countries -- renews the age-old debate over whether the conflict is a "just war" under traditional religious teachings. NPR's Jacki Lyden reports on the moral debate for Morning Edition. (4:54) ((This piece is part of a NPR-PBS collaboration. NOW with Bill Moyers airs tonight and every Friday at 9pm. Read more about Now with Bill Moyers and check www.pbs.org for local listin

Thousand of veterans who fought in the Gulf War have developed symptoms ranging from fatigue and joint pain to memory disturbances. Trying to pin down what may have caused these problems has proved difficult. Environmental and medical data was either not collected at the time or subsequently lost. NPR's Richard Harris reports that the military is trying to ensure that won't happen again.