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A top Japanese diplomat says indirect negotiations to free a captive journalist from the militant Islamic State group have reached a "state of deadlock."

The top spot on the American Library Association's annual list of most challenged books goes to The Adventures of Captain Underpants — for the second year in a row.

Right before store clerks locked up at the end of the day in Sussex, England, thieves dressed in top fashions and struck poses next to store mannequins. The motion sensor gave them away.

Musicians Joe Hunter and Jack Ashford were part of the group of musicians known as the Funk Brothers whose sound defined Motown in the 1960s and 70s. They worked with such legendary performers as Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, The Miracles and many more. The Funk Brothers are the subject of the new documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown.

The United States Olympic Committee is wracked by turmoil. Again. Members of the group charged with promoting America's Olympic fortunes are bickering so incessantly that Congress will hold a hearing next week. A top corporate Olympic sponsor says the bureaucratic infighting could wind up harming athletes. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

A new book about Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, shows the personal and financial damage the Sept. 11 attacks caused the company. On Top of the World discusses how the brokerage firm survived after losing most of its employees in the terrorist attacks. NPR's Juan Williams reports.

Host Bob Edwards talks with commentator John Feinstein about high school basketball superstar LeBron James. He was benched after accepting two free sports jerseys worth nearly $900. Yesterday, a judge in Ohio said the 18-year old can play again, but he must sit out a total of two games. James is expected to be the top overall pick in this year's NBA draft.

Commentator Rawlins Gilliland, a public speaking-consultant and former National Endowment for the Humanities Poet-in-Residence, says other people's music seems to form a soundtrack to his life. It's a constant background din -- as he drives with his top down, talks on his cell phone, stops at a gas station, works out at his gym, visits a park, and finds a birthday party in progress on his own block.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports on today's congressional hearing on the continuing Clinton pardon dispute. The House Government Reform Committee called Democratic donor Beth Dozoretz to testify about her knowledge of lobbying on behalf of a pardon for fugitive Marc Rich. Dozoretz invoked her fifth amendment right against self-incrimination and answered no questions. The panel also questioned former top Clinton aides. Clinton had waived his right to executive privilege, allowing them to testify.

Host Bob Edwards talks with country music star Rodney Crowell. Crowell was just 11-years-old when he got his first gig, playing drums alongside his father in a honkey-tonk. He went on to write songs and produce albums for some of country music's top artists, including Willie Nelson and Emmy Lou Harris. The Texan's latest album is The Houston Kid. Crowell says it's his autobiography set to music.