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Commentator Sandip Roy was a boy in India when a gas leak in Bhopal killed thousands of men, women and children. He collected pictures of the victims for his scrapbook, and found the photo of one little girl particularly harrowing. On the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, Roy, now an editor with New California Media in San Francisco, recalls the image.

Sixty-three years ago today, Americans were shocked by news that a Japanese force had attacked the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor. As NPR's John Ydstie reports, the family of a U.S. commander blamed for the attack refuses to accept the government's version of events.

A major figure in the American musical scene died on Dec. 7 at his home in Siesta Key, Fla. Frederick Fennell was a legendary conductor and educator known for his musicality and interpretive abilities. NPR's Fred Child remembers him through his music.

Hatoon al Fassi, a professor of women's history at King Saud University, discusses Thursday's municipal elections in Saudia Arabia. Women aren't allowed to be candidates or participate in the vote, and much of the population is cautious about the effect elections will have on one of the world's staunchest absolute monarchies.

A newly released memo from former White House counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke warned then National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice that al Qaeda was an "active, major force" that needed immediate attention. The communiqué was written five days after President Bush took office in 2001.

Author Susan Sontag died Tuesday in Manhattan, after a long struggle with cancer. Sontag was the author of many essays and 17 widely translated books. She wrote about photography and AIDS, film and choreography, Vietnam and the Sept. 11 attacks. Her novel In America won the National Book Award for fiction. Sontag was 71. Hear NPR's Kim Masters.

Actor Jerry Orbach died Tuesday at age 69 of prostate cancer. Orbach spent years on the New York stage as a song man in hit musicals, but he was perhaps best known for his role as acerbic New York homicide detective Lennie Briscoe in the long-running hit series Law and Order.

The doping scandal that erupted this week due to the revelations of Victor Conte of the BALCO company may have a serious effect on at least two major athletes, track star Marion Jones and baseball slugger Barry Bonds. Jones denies using any illegal substances, and Bonds says he never knowingly used banned drugs, but skepticism is growing. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.

New York Times writer Jason DeParle's book American Dream explores the effects of the 1996 welfare reform enacted by President Clinton and Congress. DeParle and Angela Jobe, a woman featured in the book, join NPR's Scott Simon.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden talks with Amos Oz, Israel's leading author, about his new memoir A Tale of Love and Darkness. His life story shares many parallels with the history of the Jewish state.

President Bush's proposed federal budget cuts funding for many law-enforcement programs, including COPS -- community oriented policing -- a program that has placed 100,000 police on streets across America. NPR's Laura Sullivan reports.

Rep. Jerry Lewis, the new chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, has the job of putting President Bush's $2.5 trillion budget into practice.

Slate financial columnist Daniel Gross says up-and-coming Commerce Bank has figured out a secret -- or at least something other bankers seem to have forgotten: it's good business to make your customers happy.

Music journalist Ashley Kahn profiles Alice Coltrane, widow of jazz legend John Coltrane. Alice Coltrane is a musician and bandleader in her own right and has just released her first album in 25 years.

Noted child psychiatrist Dr. James Comer is among those trying to address the needs of students who are underachieving in the U.S. public school system. He is the creator of the 35-year-old School Development Program, which uses an integrated approach to learning that relies on alliances among parents, educators, policy makers and community members to strengthen the educational environment. Comer also teaches at Yale University's Child Study Center and is associate dean at the Yale School of Medicine. He joins NPR's Tavis Smiley to discuss the state of public education in America and his latest book Leave No Child Behind: Preparing Today's Youth for Tomorrow's World.

Aleta St. James, who recently gave birth to twins at the age of 56, speaks to NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates about the anticipated joys and complications of motherhood at her age.

NPR's Nina Totenberg talks about who might replace Attorney General John Ashcroft. Totenberg says she expects a nomination soon. Hear NPR's Totenberg and NPR's Renee Montagne.

Fishing communities along the Indian Ocean are reeling from the devastation wrought by Sunday's tsunami, and whole fishing fleets are in ruins. Offshore, fish communities could be equally devastated -- and the impact this will have on local fishing communities could be long-lasting. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden and Fernanda Guerrieri, an official with the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization.

A survey by a group called The Catalogue for Philanthropy finds the poorest American states score the highest on their "generosity index" for 2004 -- an annual scorecard ranking states by how much their residents give to charities in proportion to how much they have. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden and George McCully, a trustee of the Ellis L. Phillips Foundation and project coordinator for The Catalogue for Philanthropy.

Nicolas Vaca, author of The Presumed Alliance: The Unspoken Conflict Between Latinos and Blacks and What it Means for America, talks about the surprisingly split Latino vote and its impact on the 2004 presidential election. Hear Vaca and NPR's Tavis Smiley.

In much of the U.S. and Canada this week, the night sky is alight with the spectacular displays of red, green and white lights from the aurora borealis. NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Anthony Arrigo on UtahSkies.org.

Musician and writer Miles Hoffman says the great composer, born 234 years ago this week in Bonn, Germany, is still revered for his forceful music — and admired for writing a share of it after losing his hearing.

The board of directors of Hewlett-Packard calls for the resignation of chairman and chief executive Carly Fiorina. Fiorina made a mark as the first woman president, CEO and chairman of a major computer company, and steered HP through its merger with Compaq.

President Bush has tapped Laura Bush to lead an effort to help boys do better in school and stay away from street gangs and crime -- a response to grim statistics on the difficulties boys face. NPR's Michele Norris speaks with the first lady about the initiative.

NASA announces it will probably cancel plans to send a robot to fix the Hubble Space Telescope. The president's proposed budget for the agency did not contain funding for the mission. An alternative proposal would send humans to repair the aging Hubble.