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Lori Anne Madison is the youngest-ever competitor in the National Spelling Bee, which is being held in Washington, D.C., this week. She might also be the only competitor who often studies while swinging upside down.

Folklorist Stephen Wade traces the origin of "The Rock Island Line." It was a hit for Lonnie Donnegan ("The King of Skiffle") in 1956. He got it from an old recording by Leadbelly who was at the session when it was first recorded on this date in 1934 by John Lomax at an Arkansas penal farm.

Julianne Shepherd of The Fader discusses this week's new music releases, including albums by Sigur Ros, Three 6 Mafia, Hercules and Love Affair, and Ry Cooder.

Robert Siegel speaks with Brock Meeks, Washington correspondent for WIRED Magazine and HotWired, about the computer service America Online. At first a very successful on-line service, AOL is finding the Internet itself a source of competition. AOL offers members an environment of online services including access to the Internet but the Internet and its panoply of service providers is overshadowing AOL.

The venerable New York investment firm Goldman Sachs has a long track record for producing political bigwigs. Treasury Secretary-nominee Henry M. Paulson Jr. has served as both chairman and CEO since 1999. The company boasts a return on equity of upwards of 40 percent.

Robert talks with Marshall Goldman, the associate director of the Davis Center of Russian research at Harvard University and a professor of economics at Wellesley College. They'll discuss who might be in line to take over for Boris Yeltsin, as the Russian president's health continues to be a concern. The recent election left no clear successor, and the current Russian rules do not specify who should take over in the event that the President is incapacitated...although there are clear guidelines for who would be in control if the President should die.

Each year on Memorial Day weekend, West Virginia's best storytellers compete for the prestigious title of "Biggest Liar," in a tall- tale contest that draws large crowds. Two contest judges, including a five-time champion, spin a couple of whoppers.

The man British authorities charged with poisoning former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko has responded with his own accusations. Andrei Lugovoi, another former KGB officer, says Litvinenko was a British agent trying to get compromising materials about Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Thailand has killed more than 40 million chickens this year in an effort to stop a deadly strain of bird flu that's killed at least 17 people in the country. But the virus keeps resurfacing. NPR's Jon Hamilton reports.

Even as it loses its chief executive, the CIA's recently retired third-ranking official is under investigation for possible improper relations with a defense contractor, says Newsweek magazine correspondent Michael Isikoff. Federal investigators are investigating CIA Executive Director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo.

Alistair Campbell, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's top media strategist, steps down amid accusations that he helped exaggerate evidence on Iraq's weapons programs. The British media had dubbed Campbell the "real deputy prime minister." Campbell cites family reasons for his resignation. Hear NPR's Guy Raz.

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with Christian Turner, the United Kingdom ambassador to the United States, about current tensions between the two countries and King Charles' state visit to D.C. this week.