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NPR's Nina Totenberg has the second of two reports on what to expect when the Senate begins considering President Bush's nominees to the federal bench. There are 100 vacancies to fill, largely because the Republican- controlled Senate refused to even consider many of President Clinton's nominations. Today's report focuses on the main players. White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales heads a team of young conservative lawyers who are compiling a list of nominees. Republican Sen. Orin Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the committee, are trying to work out a set of confirmation rules acceptable to senators from both parties.

NPR's Jackie Northam reports from Davenport, Iowa as it braces against rising floodwaters of the Mississippi River. Residents of Davenport have chosen not to build a permanent floodwall and now federal officials say taxpayers shouldn't have to rescue their riverfront.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission meets tomorrow to consider a plan to ease California's power crisis. The commission may back off from its opposition to electricity price caps by approving temporary caps during power emergencies. NPR's Richard Gonzales reports.

Robert Siegel talks with Mike Moore, attorney general for Mississippi, about the settlement of a lawsuit against the state of Mississippi. The lawsuit was brought by a group of African-Americans trying to improve the academic programs at Mississippi's black universities.

The City of Oakland, California will vote on a proposal tonight that would require the city to hire a certain number of bilingual workers. The ordinance, if passed, will require certain departments to hire people that speak either English and Spanish or English and Chinese. Robert Siegel speaks with Oakland City Council President Ignacio de la Fuente, he is a co-author of the proposal.

A New Zealand air force plane returned safely today to Christchurch after retrieving four ill Americans and seven other U.S. staffers from a frigid research station near Antarctica's coast. A second perilous rescue mission to the bottom of the world is now underway. An eight-seat Twin Otter plane has landed at the South Pole to evacuate a sick American doctor. Antarctica's harsh, dark winter conditions usually preclude flights in or out. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

NPR's Nina Totenberg looks at two 5-4 decisions released by the Supreme Court today. One says police may arrest and jail someone for a minor offense, even when the punishment is no more than a fine. The case involved a woman whose car was pulled over because she and her children were not wearing seat belts. The other decision rejected a lawsuit by a woman who sued Alabama for not allowing her to take her driver's test in Spanish. The justices said the statute in question does not provide for an individual to sue a state for the type of discrimination she alleged.

Anthony Kuhn reports China expressed "serious concern" about the just-announced U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, even though the package did not contain the Aegis destroyers. Beijing had said sale of the Aegis system would have caused a crisis. But China's relatively measured criticism may give way to harsher reactions when details of the arms package are fully known.

Robert Siegel talks with Lin Yu-Fang, associate professor of International Studies Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taipei, Taiwan. They discuss the arms sale from the U.S. to Taiwan, and how it's being received in Taipei.

Sotheby's auction house has 151 items of Chinese propaganda art for sale from the era of Mao Tse-tung. (2:00) Sotheby's Web site.