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The Federal Reserve helps set the pace -- and the tone -- for the U.S. economy. While the body's interest rate changes ripple across global markets, the public knows little of its inner workings. Now a former Fed governor, Laurence Meyer, has written a book about his six years there. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Meyer.

The Web site uglydress.com maintains a visual record of ugly bridesmaids' gowns. NPR's Renee Montagne reports.

The FBI warns that al Qaeda may plan to use tourist helicopters or limousines in future attacks against the United States. The warning is apparently based on intelligence recently found on a laptop computer in Pakistan, some of which appears to be several years old. Also Monday, terror suspect Qari Saifullah Akhtar was detained in the United Arab Emirates. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly reports.

As he nears the end of his 3,000-mile journey across China, on the western side of the Gobi Desert, NPR's Gifford finds the last thing he would expect -- a bowling alley, the sign of a new middle class.

President Bush has named U.S. Rep. Porter Goss (R-FL) as his choice to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Goss, who served in the CIA before running for Congress, is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea and NPR's Renee Montagne.

A pending ballot measure in California would funnel $3 billion over 10 years into embryonic stem cell research. President Bush restricted federal funding for such research three years ago. The California bond measure is largely supported by scientists and affected families; its detractors oppose it on mostly religious or fiscal grounds. NPR's Ina Jaffe reports.

Puzzle master Will Shortz quizzes one of our listeners and has a challenge for everyone at home. This week's winner is Nicole Speulda from Washington, D.C. She listens to Weekend Edition on member station WETA in Washington.

More than 50 years after the release of her first album, Raitt's voice remains a subtle instrument: earthy with an ache around the edges. Its sly intimacy is, as always, a deep pleasure.

The latest novel by Ward Just, An Unfinished Season, is set in 1950s suburban Chicago and its hero is a copy boy working for a tabloid newspaper in the city. Just talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the book and how he came to write fiction after a successful career in journalism.

Immigrant communities in Los Angeles and Southern California are arguably the most diverse places in the country. The different groups sometimes live in ethnic enclaves and don't mix. But Alex Cohen member station KQED visits a small sliver of L.A. County that can accurately be described as a melting pot, an ethnic stew like no other.