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NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports that European Union officials are calling for investigations into what is being called the Balkan Syndrome. Several Italian soldiers have fallen ill with leukemia since serving as peacekeepers in the Balkans. There are fears they may have been sickened because of contact with ammunition made of depleted uranium, an extremely dense metal used to pierce armor.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports that authorities in India are preparing for the biggest day of the weeks-long religious festival known as Kumbh Mela. Millions of Hindus have gathered at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunah rivers to bathe in waters that are supposed to cleanse their souls. The festival is based on the Hindu tale of a long-ago battle between the gods and demons for a pitcher containing the nectar of immortality. Some of the liquid spilled to earth, hence the Kumbh Mela.

NPR's Cheryl Corley reports on Starlink, a genetically engineered corn which has been approved for livestock feed. The corn became the pariah of grains earlier this year when it made it's way into human food. Starlink contains a protein that could cause allergic reactions. The EPA is still considering if the corn is safe for human consumption, a situation that's upset environmentalists and put many farmers in a bind.

Exotic Newcastle Disease is a highly contagious virus that attacks birds, especially domestic poultry like chickens and turkeys. Five southern California counties are under quarantine as officials struggle to contain an outbreak. The disease threatens California's three-billion-dollar poultry industry. Alex Cohen of member station KQED reports.

As music director of Weekend Edition Sunday, NPR's Ned Wharton supervises music continuity for the show and keeps tabs on what's new and noteworthy in the music world. He looks at a pair of CDs designed to be appreciated with visual components.

Congress holds hearings to determine how the nation wound up facing a shortage of influenza vaccine. About 40 million doses -- roughly half the anticipated U.S. supply -- were impounded in Great Britain amid fears they were contaminated with bacteria. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Last-minute bills often contain surprises, and Congress' 3,200-page spending bill is no exception. The bill is intended to fund most of the federal government's operations, but is also festooned with special features few had noticed. NPR's David Welna reports.

A team from the Environmental Protection Agency undertakes the difficult task of cleaning up spilled mercury at Cardozo High School in Washington, D.C. No one in the school was contaminated, but the building has been closed on and off for more than a week while the cleanup proceeds.

The World Health Organization announces that Vietnam is the first country to contain severe acute respiratory syndrome and says the worst of the SARS outbreak is over in Hong Kong, Canada and Singapore. But in China, officials announce several new cases. SARS has killed more than 300 worldwide. Hear NPR's Rob Gifford and Hong Kong doctor Wan Song.

Researchers argue that radio signals are not the most efficient way of alerting an extraterrestrial intelligence to our existence. The scientists recommend sending, and searching for, an interstellar message in a bottle. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.

A world of silence. That's often how those of us who can hear imagine deafness. But that silence contains a multitude of voices, with a shared history and language and a controversial future.

The Environmental Protection Agency has given approval for contaminated waste to continue to be shipped out of East Palestine, Ohio. Over the weekend, shipments were halted after waste was taken to sites in Michigan and Texas.

Will this be enough to stave off fears of this contagion spreading to other big banks of the world?

Parents are fuming after learning that 1.5 million of the popular Thomas the Tank Engine toys are being recalled. The toys, made in China, contain lead paint especially dangerous for children.

Packaging can be a big part of a brand or product's appeal, and there are many examples through history of a product's packaging dramatically changing its fortunes.

Life in solitary means 23 hours a day in a concrete box with almost no contact with the outside world. Guests talk about what it's like serving time in solitary confinement, and trying to re-adjust to life on the outside.

When you wake up with the sniffles — or worse — is it best to tough it out and go to work? Or is showing up contagious unfair to your colleagues? Michael Smith, chief medical editor for Web M.D. talks about when it's best to call in sick.

It's easy — maybe too easy — to click 'Send,' but that little button contains a world of pitfalls. Ever fire off an angry all-caps e-mail? Or use a devious little BCC, to your later chagrin? Authors David Shipley and Will Schwalbe offer a guide to e-mailing in the modern world.

It's been a year of grief and loss for the Uvalde community, but people are also trying to move forward.

The Sampaguita released an album, also called "The Sampaguitas," which contains Filipino folk songs sung in Tagalog, one of the languages of the Philippines.

The Food and Drug Administration says the products could cause partial vision loss or blindness.

The wedge threatens the drinking water supply for several Louisiana communities.

A group of activists and a museum joined forces to preserve around 20 of the hundreds of murals.

Workers in Baltimore continue unraveling and clearing the twisted metal and concrete from the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The aging systems and outdated infrastructure that help bring us clean water are buckling.