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NPR's Cheryl Corley reports that United Airlines filed for bankruptcy today. The airline has lost about $4 billion dollars in the last two years and didn't have enough cash to pay off nearly a billion dollars in debt that was due this week. It was business as usual for the flying public, though. The airline has promised to keep flying while it comes up with a plan to reduce costs under the supervision of the bankruptcy court.

The French film noir classic Quai des Orfevres makes a new tour of U.S. theaters half a century after its 1948 release, with a restored print. It features a lost Paris full of music halls, cigarette smoke and a criminal investigation. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.

Fidgety financial markets continued their volatile swings today. As Jim Zarroli reports, the Nasdaq composite index lost more than 4 percent of its value early in the day before rebounding sharply. But the Nasdaq, home to most new economy stocks, is still off 20-percent for the year. There's a sense of unease about some of the high-tech stocks that have powered the market's remarkable performance. Earnings at many companies have disappointed, and with interest rates and energy costs up this year, investors see little to cheer about.

Noah talks with Sam Web, Chairman of the Communist Party USA about Gus Hall, who has died at the age of 90. Hall was Chair of the Communist Party in the U.S. for many years, and he ran for president on the party ticket four times. Web says Hall never lost his optimism and hope for Communism in America, and recently was happy to see so many young people involved in protests against the World Trade Organization, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Suketu Mehta's new book is Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found. It's an exploration of Mehta's hometown, where he returned after a 21-year absence. Born in Bombay, one of the world's most populous areas, Mehta still believes it's the city of the future.

Five years ago, Tom DeBaggio told his personal story about his battle with early-onset Alzheimer's. A return visit finds the former nursery owner less sure of himself — and scared to death of getting lost again.

The small town of Conyers, southeast of Atlanta, has lost two soldiers in Iraq -- Pfc. Diego Rincon, 19, and Army Spc. Jamaal Addison, 22. Conyers has been growing because of its proximity to Georgia's capital city, but it still has a small-town personality -- and many people there have passionate feelings about the war, and the town's losses. Hear NPR's Kathy Lohr.

Conductor, arranger and musical historian John McGlinn frequently stripped classic musicals to their roots by returning to original orchestrations and reinstating lost songs. McGlinn died on Feb. 14; Fresh Air remembers him with interviews from 1989 and 1992.

Producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff helped pioneer the sound of Philadelphia soul. Their renowned record label, Philadelphia International, produced the hits "Love Train," "Backstabbers" and "The Love I Lost."

U.S. officials say Saddam Hussein's regime appears to have lost hold of Baghdad. Security forces desert the streets, replaced by looters, and government officials have disappeared, though some fighting continues. From Qatar, U.S. Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks says the regime "is in disarray and much of Iraq is free from years of oppression." Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden.