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Forty years ago today, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a bill that changed the face of America. Recordings of the president's phone conversations reveal his tireless campaign to wrangle lawmakers in favor of the controversial bill. NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR News Analyst Cokie Roberts reflect on Johnson's historic efforts.

After a day's journey, the casket of President Ronald Wilson Reagan arrives on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol. An official ceremony will mark the start of a period when Reagan's body will lie in state in the Rotunda, in the building's center. Hear NPR's Andrea Seabrook.

Before going out on his own, he backed B.B. King and played with Ray Charles. He eventually became musical director for Charles' band and he credits what he learned about playing soulful music from Charles. His CD Hank Crawford: Memphis Ray and a Touch of Moody collects music from his previous recordings: More Soul, From the Heart, Soul of the Ballad, and Dig These Blues. (Rebroadcast from May 20, 1998.)

Tests that can reveal a person's risk of a disease are an advance of modern medicine, but they are also perceived as a double-edged sword. The ability to diagnose the disease or to predict its arrival has outstripped the ability to treat it. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Joe Palca.

A new memorial honoring those who served in World War II is dedicated on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Thousands of veterans gathered to hear President Bush, former Sen. Bob Dole and other speakers. Nancy Marshall reports.

Some of Alabama's candidates in Tuesday's Republican primary are using an unlikely figure to gain support -- former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore. Moore was removed from his post after defying a federal order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from Alabama's state judicial building. Melanie Peeples reports.

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.

A car bomb explodes near the U.S.-led coalition headquarters in Baghdad, killing four and leaving at least 25 wounded. Officials called the attack an attempt to complicate efforts to hand over power to an Iraqi interim government, slated to take place within a month. The cabinet will take over at the beginning of July, after the U.S. occupation authority is formally disbanded. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and NPR's Peter Kenyon.

Both President George Bush and Sen. John Kerry take part in Memorial Day services to honor America's war dead. The president laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery, while Kerry visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

Former President Reagan's state funeral is being held at the Washington National Cathedral, which towers over the nation's capital. Bishop John Bryson Chane, the dean of the cathedral, says it was created as "a national house of prayer for all people." NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.