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Commentator Edie Clark lives in Harrisville, N.H., which recently switched to the 911 system. Prior to that the townspeople had to dial a seven-digit phone number in emergencies. Clark says she's not sure 911 has solved any problems.

Commentator Marion Winik remarks on the apparent development of a new baby boom.

Human cloning is back in the news with announcements by two groups that they are ready to try cloning a human. But as NPR's Joe Palca reports, most other researchers in the field think these claims are scientifically premature, to say the least.

An association of public safety officials wants to negotiate a settlement to its ongoing fight with cellular phone companies. Each side has blamed the other for delays in building a tracing capacity into their phones to aid emergency workers. The public safety officials want the FCC to reject delaying tactics by the phone companies. NPR's Emily Harris reports.

Borders Books has announced it is pulling out of the online bookselling business, allying its online brand with Amazon.com. And in hopes of increasing profits, Yahoo announced it is increasing its online retail presence by retailing pornography. Linda Wertheimer talks with Wendy Taylor of ZiffDavis' SmartBusiness online magazine about these Web developments.

NPR's Mandalit delBarco reports the collapse of many Internet companies has pushed a lot of people with good technical skills into the job market. Most are finding new jobs fairly quickly. But for some it takes longer, and they're having to be creative about how they market themselves.

A pleased and relieved President Bush announced the release of the U.S. Navy surveillance plane crew that had been held in China for 11 days. NPR White House Correspondent Don Gonyea describes the diplomatic activity in the hours before the breakthrough. And he reports on President Bush's meeting with the family of one of the crewmembers.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Paris, where Secretary of State Colin Powell met today with the other five foreign ministers in the so-called Contact Group on the Balkans. {The ministers stressed the large degree of consensus within the Contact Group on the various Balkan issues. With regard to the recent fighting in Macedonia, they strongly supported Macedonia's territorial integrity and condemned violence by ethnic Albanian insurgents. As for Montenegro, which will soon hold a referendum on independence, they expressed support for a democratic Montenegro within the framework of a democratic Yugoslavia.}

A new thermometer designed to take people's temperature from their foreheads is said to be more accurate than other thermometers -- as well as more comfortable to use. Noah Adams talks with Dr. David Greenes, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital in Boston, where the temporal artery thermometer has been tested. The Exergen company will be placing the device on the market later this year.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports on the critical role of the U.S. embassy staff in Beijing in resolving the crisis. The young Bush administration was caught by surprise by the incident, as it had not fully developed its stance toward China. The administration had to scramble to respond -- and relied on the expertise of the embassy.