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Linda Wertheimer talks to Nicholas McGegan, music director of the Gottingen Festival in Germany. He will conduct Gloria in Excelsis Deo, a composition for soprano and strings by George Frideric Handel, which has been rediscovered in a London library. Handel scholars in England and in this country have examined the work and believe that it is an authentic Handel piece and probably one of his earlier works.

As an agnostic singing in a choral society each week, Stacy Horn is often puzzled by the words and their meaning, but loves the music. She says she respects people who believe in the words behind the music -- despite no connection to them. Horn is the author of Waiting for My Cats to Die: Morbid Memoir.

NPR's David Welna reports on the partisan debate raging on Capitol Hill over the turmoil in the stock market and what that could mean for President Bush's tax reduction program. Republicans insist that if the economy is faltering, tax cuts need to be implemented without delay. Democrats argue that the falling stock prices mean it would be too risky to pass a 10-year tax cut plan, given the fact that there is no way to know whether the administration's long-range projections on the economy are accurate.

Linda Wertheimer talks with Dr. Lester Crawford, who is director of the Georgetown Center for Food and Nutrition Policy, about why it is so important to slaughter animals to combat foot-and-mouth disease.

Janet Heimlich reports that even though foot-and-mouth disease has not appeared in the United States since 1929, many livestock-producing states are telling ranchers to take precautions. Texas animal health officials are worried that the disease could be brought in by travelers, particularly in contaminated meat. They are telling ranchers to isolate new animals for a few days, disinfect the boots of visitors from abroad, and watch their animals for symptoms. Not all ranchers are paying attention.

NPR's Rob Gifford reports that the U.S. Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces is visiting China. The communist country is warning the U.S. not to develop its planned national missile defense program, or to sell arms to Taiwan.

NPR's Tom Goldman reports on the controversy surrounding the autopsy records of Dale Earnhart. Florida law puts autopsy reports in the public domain, but the wife of the late NASCAR driver wants to keep them private.

David D'Arcy reports on an unlikely Johannes Vermeer exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It features several of the 17th century Dutch artist's paintings, but it also shows work from his contemporaries in the Netherlands. Curators hope the juxtaposition demonstrates Vermeer's immense talent.

NPR's Jim Zarroli reports the Nasdaq bounced back a bit from its steep fall yesterday. The Dow industrials spent most of the day in negative territory. Stock prices have plummeted in recent weeks because of a string of disappointing earnings reports from major technology companies.

Tom Trowbridge reports that the governor of New Mexico is championing a bill that would make it legal to possess small amounts of marijuana in the state. The measure is now before the state's legislature. Lawmakers from both parties are lobbying for the bill, which if it passes, will be the first time the possession of marijuana has been legalized in 20 years.

Scott Horsley of member station KPBS reportson fast-food chains' actions to protect their hamburgers -- and their profits -- from the effects of mad cow disease.

NPR's Peter Overby reports on the upcoming Senate debate on campaign finance. The popular McCain-Feingold bill banning soft money contributions will be discussed, and President Bush is scheduled to release a statement outlining his position on the issue within a week.

NPR's Steve Inskeep reports that Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens received a dubious award yesterday. The Republican was given an "oinker award" by the Citizens Against Government Waste, citing the amount of federal pork barrel spending the group says he's brought home to Alaska. But Sen. Stevens didn't shy away from the award. Stevens says he's proud of the federal dollars he's won for his state.

Host Melissa Block talks to NPR's Andy Bowers in Honolulu on the testimony of the captain of a Japanese fishing boat rammed by a Navy submarine. The captain tells of watching waves sweep young passengers off the boat's deck. A military investigation into the accident is under way in Hawaii.

Fifty year-old Glenn Hughes, best known as the Biker character in the 70s music group The Village People, died this past week of lung cancer. We have this appreciation. (Listener participation encouraged)

Without dental insurance, William Stork has put off getting his rotten tooth pulled; Medicare doesn't cover the $1,000 procedure. Dentists can't agree on whether all seniors should get that benefit.

The United States is one of a handful of countries, and the only wealthy nation, without a national paid leave policy.

NPR's Guy Raz reports on rebel groups in Macedonia who are fighting for increased rights for the country's ethnic Albanian population.

NPR's Guy Raz talks with Lisa Simeone from Skopje about this week's fighting on the border near Kosovo.

NPR's Richard Harris looks at the week in science, including a new explanation of why plants have leaves.

NPR's Ina Jaffe reports from Los Angeles on the seventh annual Santa Clarita International Film Festival, which stresses films about family concerns.

NPR's Emily Harris reports on the Amtrak passenger train that jumped the tracks early this morning in a remote area of Iowa. Several cars were knocked on their sides, killing one person and injuring 90.

Host Lisa Simeone talks with John Gilliland, Deputy President of the Ulster Farmer's Union, about continuing concerns over the impact of Foot and Mouth Disease in Northern Ireland.

We remember singer and songwriter John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas. Phillips died this morning in Los Angeles, from apparent heart failure. He was 65 years old.

Native American groups protest the University of North Dakota's graduation ceremonies. Some are offended the school competes as the "Fighting Sioux." They were further angered when an alumnus offered the school $100 million -- as long as the name stays.