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Most people say American slavery ended in the 1800s. But Douglas Blackmon argues that the practice endured into the 20th century through the nation's prisons. Blackmon's new book, Slavery by Another Name, details how prisons cashed in on the incarcerated.

An explosion during evening prayers at a Shiite mosque in Pakistan kills at least 15 people in Karachi. Many suspect the blast may have been in retaliation for the killing of a senior Sunni cleric Sunday. NPR's Melissa Block talks with Shoaib Hasan of the Pakistani English-language monthly the Herald.

The nation lost 63,000 jobs in February, the first time jobs have dropped two months in a row since 2003. We hear from people in Michigan, one of the hardest hit states, about what it's like to be unemployed and what they're doing to get back on track.

The population of the United States has officially reached 300 million. According to government calculations, America reached the milestone at 7:46 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The United States is only the third country in the world to reach 300 million people.

With a million people evacuated and more than $1 billion in damage in San Diego County alone so far, President Bush toured the Southern California fire sites.

As the fires burn on in Southern California, more than a half-million people have been forced to leave their homes in the largest evacuation in the state's history. Guests and callers discuss what it is like to leave everything behind.

Searing temperatures are expected this week in most of California, spelling more risk for firefighters and for people laboring in agricultural fields. This summer, at least one farmworker has died due to heat exhaustion. California officials are trying to better enforce laws requiring growers to provide adequate water and shade.

A huge relief operation is underway in Bangladesh for the victims of a massive cyclone that killed more than 3,000 people. At least 1,000 are still missing while a million more are homeless. Rescue workers have yet to reach an area along the Bay of Bengal where the storm struck.

Blogs can rocket ordinary people into sudden notoriety and fame as some book and talent agents trawl blogland to find the next big thing. Dawn Meehan, a stay-at-home mom, started blogging about the everyday rigors of family life and got thousands of readers and a book deal.

After the collapse of the I-35 West bridge Wednesday, authorities are now focused on accounting for missing people and recovering the bodies of victims. The destruction of this key highway left commuter traffic snarled Thursday morning in the Minneapolis area.