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NPR's Debbie Elliott reports from Birmingham that testimony started today in the trial of Thomas Blanton Jr., who is charged with murder in the civil-rights-era bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. Four girls died in the blast in 1963.

Scott Aiges reviews the new CD from The Blind Boys of Alabama, called Spirit of the Century. All of the band members are in their 70s, and got their name when they started singing together at the Talledega Institute for the Blind in 1939. They have always sung in the traditional jubilee style -- hymns, spirituals and other Christian music -- with tight harmonies and little if any accompaniment. The new CD puts a fresh new spin on old-time religious music. (5:00) Spirit of the Century by the Blind Boys of Alabama is on Realworld records, catalog # 70876-15319-2-3.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports on the slow progress in the Senate over President Bush's education proposals.

Commentator Daniel Ferri on a teacher's nightmare -- he dreams he is unprepared for class -- unprepared and uncertain until he begins to draw a problem on the board. Long division helps ground him safely back in reality.

NPR's Nina Totenberg has the second of two reports on what to expect when the Senate begins considering President Bush's nominees to the federal bench. There are 100 vacancies to fill, largely because the Republican- controlled Senate refused to even consider many of President Clinton's nominations. Today's report focuses on the main players. White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales heads a team of young conservative lawyers who are compiling a list of nominees. Republican Sen. Orin Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the committee, are trying to work out a set of confirmation rules acceptable to senators from both parties.

NPR's Jackie Northam reports from Davenport, Iowa as it braces against rising floodwaters of the Mississippi River. Residents of Davenport have chosen not to build a permanent floodwall and now federal officials say taxpayers shouldn't have to rescue their riverfront.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission meets tomorrow to consider a plan to ease California's power crisis. The commission may back off from its opposition to electricity price caps by approving temporary caps during power emergencies. NPR's Richard Gonzales reports.

Robert Siegel talks with Mike Moore, attorney general for Mississippi, about the settlement of a lawsuit against the state of Mississippi. The lawsuit was brought by a group of African-Americans trying to improve the academic programs at Mississippi's black universities.

The City of Oakland, California will vote on a proposal tonight that would require the city to hire a certain number of bilingual workers. The ordinance, if passed, will require certain departments to hire people that speak either English and Spanish or English and Chinese. Robert Siegel speaks with Oakland City Council President Ignacio de la Fuente, he is a co-author of the proposal.

A New Zealand air force plane returned safely today to Christchurch after retrieving four ill Americans and seven other U.S. staffers from a frigid research station near Antarctica's coast. A second perilous rescue mission to the bottom of the world is now underway. An eight-seat Twin Otter plane has landed at the South Pole to evacuate a sick American doctor. Antarctica's harsh, dark winter conditions usually preclude flights in or out. NPR's Richard Harris reports.