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When we listen to a new musical phrase, it is the parts of the brain that control muscle movement, not areas involved in hearing, that help us remember what we've heard. Keeping the notes in order is a little like getting your muscles to move at the right time.

This past week, Marvin Kamras died. Though most people have never heard of Kamras, they have unwittingly benefitted from his work in the area of magnetic tape recording. Michael talks with audio and video inventor Ray Dolby about Kamras's contributions.

Janet Heimlich reports Texas authorities are taking a "softly, softly" approach to a stand-off with a family at the center of a custody dispute. The family has barricaded itself into a homestead on 47 acres in a remote area of eastern Texas. The family is drawing support from militia groups.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports that on the day after the last presidential debate, President Bill Clinton appeared at a campaign rally in Orange County, California...an area that's generally considered a Republican stronghold, but where he hopes to do well on Election Day.

NPR's Michele Norris talks with NPR's John Burnett, with the headquarters battalion of the Marine's 1st Division which is pushing toward Baghdad. Burnett describes the blackout conditions at the camp today, due to concerns that hostile forces in the area may try to attack the troops.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports from San Alavador on the devastating weekend earthquake that left hundreds dead and thousands missing or homeless. The greatest disaster area was the low-income suburb of Santa Tecla, part of which was buried under a landslide triggered by the violent quake.

President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder put aside their differences over Iraq Wednesday and pledged to focus instead on areas of agreement. Thousands protested as Bush visited the German city of Mainz, but the two leaders promised to work together to build democracy in Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi says Iraq is on track to hold elections in January. But U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld predicts continuing violence and said some areas may be too dangerous to permit voting. Hear NPR's Michele Kelemen.

As officials and rescue teams in central Florida assess damage from the area's third hurricane of the season, they report a rise in injuries and accidents. Statistically, more dangers emerge in the days after a hurricane has struck, according to relief workers. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

After a week of bombing strikes from the air, Israel sent ground troops into Gaza on Saturday. The operation penetrated the territory at several points and was designed to seize areas of north Gaza being used to launch rockets against Israel, Israeli military officials said.

The U.S. Supreme Court hands down split decisions in two closely watched cases regarding the display of the Ten Commandments in public areas. The court ruled against their display in Kentucky courthouses. But it said a monument on the grounds of Texas' capitol did not violate the Constitution.

U.S. and Iraqi forces report more progress on the sixth day of their joint offensive in Fallujah. But insurgents have occupied large areas of Iraq's third-largest city, Mosul, the scene of more violence. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden and NPR's Philip Reeves.

The Lundberg Survey says the average price of gasoline has gone up 20 cents over the past three weeks, to an average of $2.53. But different areas, or zones, are paying different costs. Michele Norris talks with Elizabeth Douglass of The Los Angeles Times.

Nearly 100 White Helmets rescue workers fled southern Syria with their families as the Assad regime took over the area. It marks another turn in the war and an uncertain future for members of the group that has rescued thousands and provided gripping videos of the regime's toll on civilians.

Rain, and lots of it, is falling in parts of California as the first of several El Niño storms makes its way across the state. In the Los Angeles area, county officials have spent extra to offer more shelter options for its large homeless population.

U.S. and Iraqi forces launch what the military describes as the largest air assault since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. The U.S. military says Operation Swarmer is aimed at clearing "a suspected insurgent operating area" northeast of Samarra.

The bittersweet tune is about a man leaving the Michigan town to find the true meaning of America. Now, the lyrics to the 1968 song have been appearing on vacant buildings around Saginaw, a city that fell apart after General Motors closed its factories in the area.

Residents begin returning to Gulf Shores, Ala., where Hurricane Ivan made landfall Thursday night as a Category 3 storm. The area suffered damage from wind and floods as the ocean surged more than a mile inland. NPR's Adam Hochberg reports.

For more than 40 years, Pablo Picasso's Seated Woman with Red Hat went unnoticed in the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science's storage area. Now that it's resurfaced, the Indiana museum says it can't afford to insure the multimillion-dollar artwork.

Music journalist Joel Selvin has witnessed just about every significant musical moment in San Francisco in the past 35 years. Smart Ass: The Music Journalism of Joel Selvin compiles his best work into a tribute to the Bay Area's eclectic sound.