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Pianist and Singer Hadda Brooks, known as "Queen of the Boogie," died last week at the age of 86. Brooks rose to fame in 1945 with the song, "Swingin' the Boogie." The song also helped launch the top West Coast rhythm and blues label, Modern Records. NPR's Bob Edwards has a remembrance.

Hurricane Ivan approaches the Gulf coast with winds of up to 145 miles per hour, prompting the mayor of New Orleans to declare a state of emergency. The storm has caused a mass exodus of boats and fishermen from the area. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Brian Wells of the Sportsman Marina and Drydock in Orange Beach, Ala.

Charley, named a category 4 hurricane when it hit the Gulf Coast of Florida on Friday afternoon, continues to sweep across the state in a northeast direction. A category 4 storm carries winds up to 145 mph, and is capable of extensive damage. Hundreds of thousands of residents have moved to shelter and higher ground. Preliminary estimates envision $15 billion in damage to the state.

Reporter Tom Springer in New Orleans brings us the story of Marvin Perett, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran who has dedicated himself to remembering the victims of Exercise Tiger, a pre-D-day training maneuver in the English Channel that turned deadly. (Reporter Tom Springer was a recent participant in NPR's Next Generation Radio Project -- a series of one-week, student radio training projects co-sponsored by NPR and several journalist and media organizations.)

A military convoy rolls through flooded streets to bring food, supplies, and the National Guard to New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast. But conditions remain desperate in many parts of the city.

Renee talks with three folk fiddlers who make up the band "Celtic Fiddle Festival." They're currently touring the west coast of the U.S., playing Celtic tunes from Ireland, Brittany, and Scotland. There's one fiddler from each nation, so they each take a solo turn to show how their styles are different. Celtic Fiddle Festival's latest CD is called, Rendezvous.

Gustav is no longer a hurricane, but that doesn't mean all is well yet for residents of the Gulf Coast. Millions are still far from home in shelters across the region. One such shelter is a gymnasium in Shreveport, La., that has become home to about 800 people.

A deluge is falling on Australia's southeast coast — and while it's quashing stubborn fires, the water is also causing flash floods and other hazards.

North Korea is developing a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile that theoretically has the capacity to reach the West Coast.

NPR's Noel King talks to National Transportation Safety Board member Jennifer Homendy, who leads the investigation into the deadly fire in California aboard the dive boat Conception.