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In early 19th-century America, dime museums were popular attractions. So named because admission cost $.10, these "museums" were eccentric collections of the bizarre: stuffed two-headed calves, petrified mummies, and dragon fossils. Some of it might have been real. Now two showmen in the old time tradition have opened the American Dime Museum in Baltimore. Harriet Baskas paid them a visit.

NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg reports that the U.S. Supreme Court today takes up the question of how much a jury should consider mental capacity of a defendant when deciding capital punishment cases. (8:32) Check out NPR News coverage of the Supreme Court.

NPR's Susan Stamberg continues her series of conversations about loyalty. Today she speaks with Lt. Gen. Theodore Stroup. They discuss the meaning of faith and duty in the military.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from Indonesia that female vice president Megowati Sukarnoputri may have a second shot at the presidency of this mostly male-run country.

Host Bob Edwards talks with Doctor Cheryl Healton of the anti-tobacco American Legacy Foundation. They discuss the Surgeon General's report out today highlighting the differences between smoking habits of men and women. Women especially are the targets of aggressive marketing campaigns.

Michigan Public Radio's Matt Shafer Powell reports from Detroit that many autoworkers are likely to make considerably less money in overtime earnings this year because of production cuts by the big three carmakers. Loss of overtime will mean $20,000 less for some workers, and that will hurt businesses that benefit from workers' non-essential spending.

Commentator Ev Ehrlich consults the pet.com sock puppet about what lies ahead for companies like the one he used to work for before it went bankrupt.

Host Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Cokie Roberts. Congress starts debate this week on the federal budget.

This week, Morning Edition airs essays from high school seniors written for their college applications. We begin with Richard Van Ornum of the Seven Hills School in Cincinnati, about his dream of flight. (3:19) Read the essays.

Host Bob Edwards talks with sports commentator John Feinstein about the narrowing NCAA championships. Basketball teams from the University of Maryland, Duke, University of Arizona and Michigan State will play for the title.

Animator Paul Fierlinger memorializes the dogs who shared his life in his new short film, Still Life With Animated Dogs. Host Lisa Simeone speaks with Fierlinger about his life in communist (dog-unfriendly) Czechoslovakia. His film appears on public television stations later this week. For more information visit http://www.pbs.org/animateddogs/ or call 1-800-343-5540.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports on how Republicans and Democrats raise campaign money. Because Republicans have success raising "hard" money in small donations, while Democrats do better with "soft" money from large donations, they would be affected differently by the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill, which the Senate is debating for the second week. (8:43) Check out NPR News coverage of Power, Money and Influence

Host Bob Edwards talks with reporter Caroline Gluck about changes South Korean President Kim Dae Jung has ordered in his cabinet.

In rural areas, basic health care can be out of reach. Keller Rinaudo founded Zipline, a delivery company that uses drones to deliver necessary medical supplies within hours, even minutes.

As the senate debates the McCain-Feingold campaign reform bill, NPR's Peter Overby reports on one of the commissioners of the Federal Election Commission, which regulates campaign funding.

Host Lisa Simeone talks with jazz musician Paul Horn about his recordings inside buildings around the world. His most famous recording inside the Taj Mahal became a best seller in 1969. He went back twenty years later and recorded again and for the first time the two recordings are now available on the same cd. We also go with Paul Horn to the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle in Washington DC for a short concert. (For more information, visit www.transparentmusic.com. This site will open in a new browser window.)

As state and local governments face up to the possibility of budget deficits in the coming year, many are tightening their belts by cutting programs. One of those to face the budget axe is recycling. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott McCallum wants to cut the state's subsidy for local recyling programs by $10 million. Host Lisa Simeone speaks with John Reindl, Recycling Manager for Dane County, Wisconsin.

Commentator Paul Kvinta has double vision this weekend -- one eye on the NCAA college basketball tournament and the other on the Best Actress race at the Oscars.

NPR's Christopher Joyce reports on a White House announcement that President Bush will not implement the climate treaty negotiated in Kyoto, Japan. Democratic leaders in Congress and environmental groups promised to fight Mr. Bush on the Kyoto climate treaty and other recent policy reversals they call setbacks to the environment.

ABC television is starting a new sitcom tonight about a black middle class family -- the only black sitcom currently on the three major networks. It's called My Wife and Kids and stars Damon Wayans. Robert Siegel talks with Paul Farhi, Style writer for The Washington Post, about the show.

Sarah Bardeen reviews the CD Inspiration Information by Shuggie Otis (Shuggie as in sugar). It was first released in 1974 and was recently re-released. Bardeen says that it was an album ahead of its time, incorporating jazz, funk, rock and R+B elements. It's available from Luaka Bop, catalog number 72348-50473-2-9.

Host Renee Montagne talks with Richard Cook, co-author of Penguin Books' new Guide to Jazz on CD. Thousands of reviews of jazz cds are included in this 1,700-page book -- a virtual jazz primer. The book: The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, by Richard Cook, Brian Morton. (7:19)Music used in Renee Montagne's interview with Richard Cook, co-author of The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD: 1. Duke Ellington-Jungle Nights in Harlem (FROM CD: Highlights from the Centennial Edition, RCA Victor) 2.Duke Ellington- Far East Suite Isfahan (FROM CD: Highlights from the Centennial Edition, RCA Victor) 3.Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers- A Night in Tunisia (FROM CD: Night in Tunisia, BLUE NOTE) 4.Medeski Martin and Wood- Sugar Craft (from CD: Combustication, BLUE NOTE) 5. Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers- Hipsippy Blues (from CD: At the Jazz Corner of the World, BLUE NOTE)

NPR's Rob Gifford reports that a Chinese government spokesman said Tuesday that Gao Zhan, a U.S.- based academic, had confessed to spying. The husband of the American University professor detained in China denies Chinese accusations that she spied for foreign intelligence agencies. The couple and their son were detained on February 11th, although the husband and son were later released.

David Darman of New Hampshire Public Radio reports that the state legislature is considering its first-ever sales tax. New Hampshire's governor is pushing the idea, over the protests of shopkeepers who say a sales tax will change the way they do business.

Joel Quenneville has quit as coach of the Florida hockey team following a report about the handling of sexual assault accusations from a player for the Blackhawks during Quenneville's tenure there.