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The fate of financially troubled Amtrak could depend on the success of Acela Express, its new high-speed train. NPR's Jack Speer reports that the long-delayed train took a group of VIPs on an inaugural run today from Washington to Boston. The train reaches a top speed of 150 miles per hour, but it's still slower than bullet trains in Europe and Japan. Acela tickets aren't cheap, and Amtrak faces a major challenge in persuading people who travel between major citieis by car or air shuttle, to opt for the train.

Babu Chhiri Sherpa, a guide well known to climbers of Mount Everest has fallen to his death. Noah Adams talks with Heidi Howkins, a mountaineer and author of the book K2: One Woman's Quest for the Summit. Howkins was on a climb with Babu Chhiri when he broke the record for the longest stay at the top of Mt. Everest without bottled oxygen. Babu Chhiri also set a record for the fastest climb of Mount Everest -- 16 hours and 56 minutes. (4:00) K2: One Woman's Quest for the Summit, by Heidi Howkins, is published by National Geographic Adventure Press.

Height should not be a problem for an outdoor tree, but the maintenance vehicles in Bailiff Bridge aren't high enough to decorate the top. Lights go just one-third of the way up.

Every three years, the world's top bakers round up their best recipes and their rolling pins and head to Paris for an Olympic-style competition. U.S. team members offer insights on their preparation.

Intrigued? It's a vanilla milkshake loaded with chunks of spicy chicken, celery, carrots and hot sauce. You can choose to have your milkshake specially topped with ranch or bleu cheese.

Two-time Grammy-winner India.Arie calls her music an expression of her way of life. Her third studio album came out June 27 and jumped to the top spot on the Billboard chart. She performs live from NPR's studio 4A.

Gen. Michael Hayden faced tough, bipartisan grilling Thursday from a Senate panel weighing his nomination to head the CIA. Responding to sharp questioning from several senators, Hayden repeatedly defended the legality of two controversial surveillance programs begun at the NSA during his six years at the helm of the top-secret intelligence agency.

When he was President Bush's top budget advisor, Mitch Daniels had a reputation as a tax-cutter. But since becoming Indiana's governor, he has proposed a tax increase to help solve the state's budget troubles.

In the 1990s, Bobby Valentino was part of the teen vocal group Mista. Now he's gone solo, with a self-titled CD and a single, "Slow Down," that's already topped the R&B charts. Ed Gordon talks with Valentino about his burgeoning career and his soulful influences.

The federal government recently sold 155 acres on the top of a landmark mountain in Crested Butte, Colo., for just $5 per acre under the terms of an 1872 mining law. Many are calling for the overhaul of an antiquated law that lets mining interests buy prime real estate at dirt-cheap prices, without owing the federal government or taxpayers a penny in royalties. NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports.