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The California Supreme Court has accepted a case that schools hope will help them walk the fine post-Columbine line between students' free speech rights and the need for school safety. The court is considering a case from San Jose in which a student was expelled and prosecuted for writing what authorities called "threatening poetry." NPR's Richard Gonzales reports.

Telemarketing agencies often invoke free speech in defending their right to call you just as you're picking up the dinner fork -- though earlier this year, at least one company promised to change its "cold calling" tactics. Commenator Tom Mabe makes a living turning the tables on telemarketers -- at least that's how he sees it. He waits for companies to call his number, then plays pranks on them. He then records his jokes and sells them on CD. Now that cold-calling is being phased out, he's worried.

NPR Senior Correspondent Juan Williams reports on a new book by Harvard sociologist Katherine Newman about the lives of poor blacks and Hispanics in parts of Harlem. (A Different Shade of Gray: Midlife And Beyond in The Inner City, by Katherine Newman, is published by New Press: ISBN 156584615X)

Marty Mankamyer resigns as president of the U.S. Olympic Committee, amid infighting within the organization. Mankamyer's feud with Olympic chief executive Lloyd Ward prompted hearings last week in the Senate, and concern that politics overshadows athletes' efforts. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Commentator Frank Deford delivers a "State of the Games" address in which no one is spared. He says traditional American sports have lost their charm amid a loss of ethics in the front office, and bad behavior by coaches, teams, umpires, players and fans.

As the United States moves closer to war with Iraq, educators are taking different approaches to teaching what it means to be a patriot. In the conclusion to Morning Edition's "Citizen Student" series on civics education, NPR's Margot Adler moderates a Justice Talking debate between scholars who disagree on how -- or if -- American schools should teach patriotism.

The centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues recommendations for how to mix-and-match COVID-19 boosters — marking the final step for making boosters widely available.

Olympic gold-medallist Marion Jones has ended her association with track coach Charlie Francis, who was a central figure in the biggest drug scandal in Olympic history. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks to Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy about COVID-19 vaccine boosters, the mixing and matching of vaccines and the White House plan to vaccinate children.

A new study predicts 40 percent of Americans will soon be obese, and scientists conceded that changes in metabolism that come with weight gain make reducing difficult. Researchers in Colorado are focusing on prevention, which takes less sacrifice and effort than many might believe. NPR's Richard Knox reports.