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Afghanistan is promoting a new national currency by collecting old money -- most of it printed by warlords -- for a new type of bill. The old money was so devalued it required bags of cash to make major purchases. NPR's Renee Montagne and Torek Faradi, an adviser to the Afghan Central Bank.

The Economist, the London-based publication on politics and world affairs, publishes a simplified version of exchange-rate theory with its Big Mac Index, using the price of a hamburger to compare purchasing power worldwide. Economist editor Pam Woodall tells All Things Considered host John Ydstie how the burger can predict economic trends from Argentina to the European Union.

Underhill studies and tracks the habits of shoppers in order to learn the best way to lead them to make purchases. His retail consulting firm, Envirosell, has helped big-name companies such as McDonald's, Levi Strauss and Blockbuster to study their customers' browsing and buying habits. He's the author of the book Why We Buy, and the new book Call of the Mall.

- NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports that in Oregon, a concern has developed over the issue of internet and privacy. Recently, an Oregon man purchased driving records from the Department of Motor Vehicles and put the information up on the internet and included with it each person's name, phone number and address. Now, states and the federal government want to regulate what 'public' information can appear on the internet in an effort to protect people's privacy.

There's a single winning ticket for the jackpot in the multi-state Powerball lottery. It's worth about $315 million, making it the largest jackpot ever claimed by one ticket. The winner has yet to be identified. The ticket was purchased at a convenience store in Hurricane, West Virginia. NPR News reports.

In a closed-door appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee, CIA Director George Tenet reaffirms his responsibility for an erroneous claim in President Bush's State of the Union address that Iraq had tried to purchase uranium from Africa. Democrats criticize the Bush administration and demand a continuing investigation. Hear NPR's David Welna.

In debate in the Senate and House, congressional Democrats criticize the Bush administration's use of intelligence to justify going to war with Iraq. The renewed criticism follows an admission by the White House that President Bush, in his State of the Union address, incorrectly claimed that Iraq had tried to purchase uranium for nuclear weapons. Hear NPR's David Welna.

The hope is to help track suspicious purchasing activities before future mass shootings. However, gun rights advocates and lobbyists are not happy.

This weekend in Britain the Daily Mail newspaper will include a free copy of the new compact disc by Prince with the purchase of every paper. That has infuriated retailers, who say such giveaways are only reinforcing the belief that recorded music has no value.

Eclipse superfans are purchasing flight tickets that fly along the path of totality to catch a closer glimpse of the remarkable phenomenon.