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Host Steve Inskeep speaks with NPR's Richard Harris and NPR's Ira Flatow about information NASA presented today in a news conference from Houston on developments in the investigation of the space shuttle Columbia disaster.

Jack Williams of member station KUHF in Houston takes us to Grace Community Church in Texas, where parishioners remembered two of the astronauts who died yesterday, Rick Husband and Mike Anderson. NPR's Phillip Davis reports on reactions from Florida.

The University of Michigan's affirmative action program draws support from unexpected groups in the face of a Supreme Court challenge supported in part by the Bush administration. Retired military officers and Fortune 500 companies urge justices to leave the race-based admissions policy alone. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.

NPR's Emily Harris reports from Hamburg on today's proceedings in the trial of Mounir al-Montassadeq, who is charged in connection with the Sept. 11 plots. The families of American victims are co-plaintiffs in the case, and the court today heard their testimony. Prosecutors say the defendant played a key role in the Hamburg cell of al Qaeda -- run by 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta. Defense attorneys say their client cannot get a fair trial, because the U.S. and German governments are withholding key information.

In the second part of our series on debt in America we'll hear about the boom in cash-out mortgage financing and about the history of debt in our society. The book mentioned is Credit Card Nation: The Consequences of America's Addiction to Credit, published by Basic Books; Dec., 2001.

The United States has decided Guatemala is not doing enough to fight the illegal drug trade and has decertified Guatemala from the list of countries deemed U.S. allies in combating drugs. But Washington has decided it won't waive penalties against the small Central American nation for national security reasons. NPR's Gerry Hadden reports from Guatemala City.

A new law says money coming from the frozen assets of foreign countries must be released to victims of terror attacks if they win damage awards in court. A federal judge heard the claims of Americans seeking Iraqi assets this week, and various other Americans likely will try to claim some of the money. NPR's Libby Lewis reports.

In the final part of our series on debt, we'll have a report from NPR's Chris Arnold about the growing number of businesses checking job applicants' credit reports. NPR's Lynn Neary with talk with Professor Robert Manning, author of Credit Card Nation, about the future of debt in America. And we'll hear from commentator Gerry Willis. She has a few optimistic thoughts about debt.

South Korean newspapers today are headlining reports that outgoing President Kim Dae Jung authorized $200 million to go to North Korea just before a summit between the two nations in 2000. Critics say the payoff negated the summit, which was billed as a breakthrough in North-South relations. Some are even saying it could spell the end of Kim's so-called sunshine policy of engagement with the North. NPR's Rob Gifford reports from Seoul.

NPR's John Ydstie continues his conversations with people in Mobile, Ala. about the President's agenda, after the State of the Union address. Today he talks with students on the campus of Bishop State Community College. They talk of war and the economy, but also about their experiences being on welfare.