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NPR's Barbara Bradley reports on the use of a DNA databank, which stores the genetic information of convicted felons, to help find the perpetrators in otherwise unsolvable cases. Currently, Virginia has the largest databank of all the states, but other states are working to adopt the crime-solving technique as well.

NPR's Brenda Wilson reports that pharmaceutical company Merck has announced plans to distribute AIDS drugs in Africa at deep discounts. This is part on NPR's series on AIDS drugs and the Third World.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports Congressional lawmakers were able to overturn recent Clinton Administration workplace regulations by using a new law called the Congressional Review Act. Members of both parties helped pass the measure five years ago, and it allows lawmakers to reject new federal rules with a simple majority vote. Democrats who voted FOR the Act now regret their support.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that the "Big Box" has landed in Japan. Huge discount warehouse stores are just beginnning to open up there. Japanese consumers are unaccustomed to both the cutrate deals on household items, and the no-frills atmosphere. Stores such as CostCo are providing stiff competition to Mom-and-Pop retailers, who pride themselves on personal service, right down to delivering a single bottle of sake to a customer's front door.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports that women's rights activists are trying to introduce a law against domestic violence. The country has no such law, although women are routinely injured, or even murdered, in their homes.

The BBC's Andrew Harding reports on a new novel by John LeCarre that has been banned by the Kenyan government. The book is set in that nation and describes deep corruption within the government.

NPR's Susan Stamberg talks with actor and director Ed Harris about his new film, Pollock, in which he portrays the enigmatic abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock.

Secretary of State Colin Powell voiced concern today about North Korea's "huge army" and told Senators the United States might try to negotiate a reduction in the size of that army. Powell's testimony came as some senators began to question whether the newly installed Bush administration is being as tough as it promised to be on North Korea and Iraq.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Jerusalem that Ariel Sharon took office as Israel's prime minister today. Security forces were deployed around the country to guard against bomb attacks during the annual Jewish holiday of Purim. The holiday is normally the most festive on Israel's calender, but the mood this year is somber.

The professionals who design and build the nation's infrastructure say vital systems are decaying. The American Society of Civil Engineers reports that, in report card terms, U.S. bridges, roads and schools get a grade of D-plus. The group says the country should start fixing the problems, with an investment of $1.3 trillion dollars over five years. NPR's Emily Harris reports.

The cost of AIDS drugs keeps going down in the countries hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic. Yesterday, the giant pharmeceutical company Merck announced that it would lower prices for three important AIDS drugs, and just after that, two other companies that make generic AIDS drugs offered to sell their versions to the government of South Africa. There's a price war going on. NPR's Brenda Wilson in Johannesburg talks with host Robert Siegel about the issue.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Belgrade on reaction to NATO's decision today to allow Yugoslav forces into a buffer zone along the Serbian border with Macedonia. The allies agreed to let Yugoslav forces into what was a demilitarized zone to oust ethnic Albanian rebels sheltering there. Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica welcomed the move. But he blasted NATO for allowing the ethnic Albanian militants to operate in the region and allowing the security situation in the region to deteriorate. The rebels have been staging attacks inside Serbia proper, and recently, in the neighboring country of Macedonia.

A paper in today's New England Journal of Medicine reports that treating Parkinson's disease patients by transplanting fetal cells into their brains produced severe side effects in some cases. NPR's Joe Palca looks at what this means for further research.

In the second part of our series on the oil century, NPR's John Burnett reports on the environmental legacy of oil and gas production. For every barrel of oil and gas produced, some 50 barrels of salt water or brine are created. The salinity fouls the well and the land around it. A lot of big oil companies have sold their leases to smaller independent companies and many of them have decided not to take care of their wells, leaving a large number of orphan wells leaking brine. In Texas, both the government and the oil industry are in favor of plugging up these polluting wells. The state plugs 1300-1500 wells a year. The activists in this case are not environmentalists, but land-owners.

NPR's Richard Knox reports on Merck's decision to offer discounted AIDS drugs to developing countries. While the drug company has improved its image by dropping profit margins in these poorer markets, the move will have minimal effect on the high cost of comprehensive AIDS treatment.

NPR's Brenda Wilson reports on efforts to treat AIDS in Senegal. The West African nation was one of the first to strike a deal with drug companies to reduce the cost of AIDS drugs and its healthcare system is one of the continent's best. But the AIDS epidemic is proving too extensive and too deadly for even the most accomplished doctors to control.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports that despite vows to quell bipartisan rancor, President Bush's brand of compassionate conservatism is still drawing lines of division between Democrats and Republicans.

Robert Siegel talks with Arthur Peacocke, an Englishman who won this year's Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Peacocke is a theologian and a scientist.

NPR's Don Gonyea reports on President Bush's visit to Fargo, North Dakota. Mr. Bush is on the road this week, selling his tax-cut plan to citizens.

In the second part of a conversation, host Bob Edwards talks to actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. The couple discuss the price they've paid for their political activism and how they've been able to reconcile their personal and professional lives during 52 years of marriage. They also talk about the 1959 Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun, and their appearances in Spike Lee's movies Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever. Davis and Dee say they'll be honored Sunday night to receive the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

The Bush administration has made missile defense a priority. During the Clinton years, the program was working to develop the means to destroy warheads in mid-course. Some analysts believe the Pentagon may consider an alternative; intercepting enemy missiles within the first few minutes of launch. NPR's David Kestenbaum has the story.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports that one of the new Bush administration priorities is the deployment of a controvertial national missile defence system. The exact nature of the missile defence system is subject to a strategic defence review which will be concluded this spring.

Robert Siegel and Linda Wertheimer read selections from this week's letters from listeners.

The House of Representatives approved today the main portion of President Bush's $1.6 trillion tax cut. Republican leaders were exultant about passing the president's prize proposal in record time. The vote followed party lines, despite weeks of courtship by the White House. And the bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where a bipartisan group of centrists is insisting on modifications. NPR's David Welna reports.

Linda Wertheimer talks with Congressman Charlie Stenholm, who represents the 17th district of Texas, about tax cuts. Stenholm says tax cuts can work in tandem with national debt reduction, improved public education and a secure social security for the future.