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Parker stars in two films in theaters now: Pipe Dream and Red Dragon. She's part of the The West Wing cast on TV. She starred in the Broadway hit Proof, for which she received the 2001 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress. Her other Broadway turns include Prelude to a Kiss, How I Learned to Drive and the revival of Bus Stop. Her film credits include Fried Green Tomatoes, Grand Canyon and The Client.

The Republicans have taken control of the Senate with this year's midterm elections. NPR's Greg Allen looks at the Senate race in Missouri, where Republican Jim Talent's won a close victory over Democrat Jean Carnahan.

John Ydstie goes to a club called the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., to hear the opening act, Mary Gauthier. Gauthier was an adopted child, a troubled teen, then a philosophy student, and later a restaurant owner. Now she writes and sings songs. Mary Gauthier talks about songwriting and how it relates to philosophy. (12:30) Mary Gauthier's new CD is called Filth and Fire It's on the Signature Sounds label.

Beyond the glamour of Hollywood and the romance of the Golden Gate Bridge, there is another California -- and it's home to the greatest garden in the world. The 400-mile-long Central Valley supplies fully one-quarter of the food America eats. Now the region faces huge changes. In the second of a four-part series on the future of the valley, NPR's John McChesney reports on the benefits and pitfalls of pesticide use, and the pressure on farmers to "go organic."

On Capitol Hill today, politicians are holding yet another hearing about the risks of mercury. It's part of the latest wave of concern about mercury, which also turns up in fish, air pollution and in some vaccines. As NPR's Jon Hamilton reports, these fears have been around for hundreds of years.

The frontier is long gone, but the American West clings to some of its roots. Morning Edition presents a series of profiles of people who are inspired by the region's landscape, resources and culture. The series concludes with Montana writers Judy Blunt and Rick Bass. NPR Online offers excerpts of their works.

His popular show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood was the longest-running program on public television. It ran 33 years and ended its run in 2001. Rogers is the author of the new book, The Mister Rogers Parenting Book: Helping to Understand Your Young Child. (Running Press). Earlier this year, Rogers was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor the nation can bestow.

Dying from a terminal illness in America can be unnecessarily painful. In the last several years, foundations have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to improve care for the dying. A new report, compiled by the national coalition Last Acts, grades the results of that effort, state by state. NPR's Joseph Shapiro went to a Hospice home in Washington, D.C. -- a place known for providing good care -- to find out why it's still so hard to help people die in comfort. Hear his report Tuesday on Morning Edition.

She is the manager and friend of Sekou Sundiata. She'll discuss her decision to donate her kidney to him, and what it's been like to have done such a thing.

Americans have expressed concern with issues ranging from the economy, health care and national security. But a series of polls by NPR News, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government show that no single issue dominates among voters of this year's midterm election. NPR's Marcus Rosenbaum reports.