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Acclaimed jazz pianist and composer Fred Hersch has more than 20 recordings and two Grammy nominations to his credit. Over the last three decades, Hersch says he's drawn much inspiration from the works of poet Walt Whitman. It's the latest story in Intersections, a series on artists and their inspirations. Jeff Lunden reports.

Forty years ago, Kitty Genovese, 28, was raped and murdered outside a Queens, N.Y., apartment building. In an interview, Mary Ann Zielonko, Genovese' girlfriend and roommate, remembers the victim.

Continuing to make his response to Sept. 11 a key theme of his re-election campaign, President Bush visits Long Island, where he breaks ground on a memorial to victims of the terrorist attacks. Bush winds up the visit with a fundraiser, as families of Sept. 11 victims continue to criticize his use of the attacks for political purposes. Hear NPR's Robert Smith.

NPR's Lynn Neary reports on a new study by the Center for Excellence in Journalism that the public is increasingly skeptical of news reports because many view news organizations as immoral.

Host Scott Simon reflects on Godzilla's midlife crisis. The mega-monster turns 50 this year, and the last Godzilla movie is in the works.

The new album Regard the End is by The Willard Grant Conspiracy, a band comprising more than 30 musicians from all over the world. The players get together as their schedules permit, making music tinged with the blues, jazz and folk influences. David Greenberger has a review.

Massachusetts lawmakers consider amending the state constitution to ban gay marriage. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that the current constitution allows gays to marry. Legislators are considering a compromise that would ban marriage but allow civil unions. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Tovia Smith.

Spanish voters head to the polls to choose a new president Sunday, as the country continues to recover from Thursday's terrorist bombings that left over 1,400 people killed or wounded. Hear NPR's Liane Hansen and NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

Nerissa Nields talks about the song "When I'm Here" from the album This Town is Wrong by Nerissa and Katryna Nields.

An article in this April's Atlantic Monthly makes the argument that the quest for genetic perfection through bioengineering may degrade the human will and the appreciation of life itself. NPR's Liane Hansen speaks with the article's author, Michael Sandel , professor of government at Harvard University.