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NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that stocks were down sharply on Wall Street today. The NASDAQ composite fell below 2000 for the first time in more than two years. The technology heavy index is down more than 60 percent from its high of a year ago. The blue chips that make up the Dow Industrial Index were also under heavy selling pressure.

In Chinese cities, the divorce rate has tripled since 1980 as the Communist Party has allowed more personal freedom. It is common for men to have extramarital affairs. Men who leave their wives often provide little or no support. China's old divorce law is largely silent on the subject of alimony because private property did not exist when the law was written. Now China is revising the law. Because there is more public debate on these matters, women are helping to shape the new law, wrestling with questions like "should adulterers be imprisoned?" NPR's Rob Gifford reports.

From member station KCUR, Frank Morris reports on calls from some Missouri lawmakers for state intervention in the long-troubled Kansas City school district.

The use of biometrics -- identifying people on the basis of physical characteristics -- was once used mainly for law enforcement purposes. Now, it is becoming more common to identify everyday Americans. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports on a Pennsylvania school district that uses fingerprint technology to identify schoolchildren in the lunchroom.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that Japan's Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori met today with other leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party. After saying this weekend that he would step down as prime minister, he now says he did NOT offer to resign. His party is reportedly exasperated with Mori, whose approval rating has dropped into single digit range. Mori will likely be a lame duck by the time he meets President Bush on March 19th at the White House.

NPR's David Welna reports that many in Washington are voicing their opinion of the Bush tax-cut plan. The proposal is expected to come before the Senate in May.

A number of critics have called David Ware the heir to the throne of Coltrane. An adventurous saxophonist who's signed to a major label, Ware was mentored by Sonny Rollins; he played with Cecil Taylor; and he drove a cab. Karen Michel has the profile.

In Santa Monica, California, the Legal Grind Cafe serves up a mean law-tte -- that's coffee with a side of legal advice. From member station KCRW, Eric Roy reports on this unusual effort that's providing affordable legal service to Angelinos.

Host Bob Edwards speaks with Michael Kaiser, the newly appointed president of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., as part of a series of conversations on Morning Edition about leading a divided group. Kaiser is known for his track record of bringing troubled arts organizations back from the brink of collapse. He says the most important facet of leadership is a vision for the future.

Ivan Watson reports that because Nigerian officials have stepped up efforts to stem drug traffic, they've been allowed to begin a direct flight from Nigeria to New York. But many recognize that Nigeria still has many obstacles in the battle against drugs, including a corrupt judicial system.

Host Bob Edwards speaks with Secretary of Education Roderick Paige. The former Houston superintendent of schools says that although in the past Republicans have wanted to abolish the Department of Education, President Bush is dedicated to public schools.

NPR's Alex Chadwick reports on a biological enigma in the forests of the Republic of Congo. This story is part one of our latest NPR/National Geographic Radio Expedition.

NPR's Guy Raz reports from Macedonia. Fighting between a small band of ethnic Albanian rebels and the Macedonian military continues.

NPR's Renee Montagne highlights moments from last night's Academy Awards ceremony. Gladiator won best picture, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon won best foreign language film. (6:35) Check out the complete list of Oscar winners.

Thousands of livestock continue to be incinerated in Britain as agriculture officials confirm 18 new cases of the infectious disease. Host Lisa Simeone talks with NPR's Julie McCarthy in London about the political ramifications of the outbreak.

Vaccination rates in much of rural America remain low. But there's one consistent holdout demographic: seniors, many of whom remember lining up eagerly as children to get the polio vaccine.

Host Bob Edwards reads from listener letters.

The Pentagon is facing a road block in its effort to immunize American troops from anthrax: the Food and Drug Administration refuses to approve the vaccine. From WDET in Detroit, Quinn Klinefelter reports.

Ninety years after a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York killed 146 workers, host Lisa Simeone talks with Dana Walden, the granddaughter of one survivor of the fire. Rose Freedman was the oldest living survivor of the fire until her death in Februrary. We hear clips of Freedman from a documentary series, The Living Century, which aired on PBS stations in December and January. More information about the documentary and Freedman can be found at http://www.thelivingcentury.com or http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire.

Pat Maginnis was out in front of the fight to legalize abortion in the 1960s, but few know her name and the lengths she went to.

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports from Moscow on the Russian president's efforts to tighten Moscow's reins on regional governments. A year after Vladimir Putin's election, he has failed to follow through on his pledge to curb the power of Russia's governors.

The Peace Corps is experiencing a sudden jump in popularity in San Francisco thanks to a rash of Internet business failures. Former dot-com employees have helped double the number of people attending the Peace Corps' informational meetings in the area. Noah Adams talks with Dennis McMahon, public affairs specialist for the Peace Corps.

Noah Adams has a summary of some of the other news on today's program.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr, just home from Havana, gives his first impressions of last week's Cuban-American conference held there analyzing the Bay of Pigs invasion.

In the second of four Radio Expedition reports, NPR's Alex Chadwick continues the search in Central Africa for an elusive member of the ape family. It may be a gorilla, a very large chimpanzee, or perhaps another apelike creature that's unfamiliar to scientists. The mysterious creature is referred to as "the Bili Ape," after the area in the Democratic Republic of Congo where the search is taking place.