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NPR's Jack Speer reports the nation's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter. The nation's gross domestic product, or GDP, expanded at a 2 percent annual rate, according to the Commerce Department. Most economists expected the economy to grow no faster than 1 percent in the first quarter. Analysts said the economy was helped along by strong consumer spending and a narrower trade gap.

According to new research published today in Science magazine, the amount of ozone pollution produced by a power generating plant depends on where it's located as well as on its emission levels. NPR's John Nielsen has the story.

NPR's Richard Knox reports that the debate over AIDS drugs to the developing world is expanding to Latin America. The nations of Central and South America are actually better poised to take advantage of lower prices, because health infrastructures are more advanced. But pharmaceutical giants are already aiming to stop further erosion of their prices. Last week in Quebec City, new anti-generic rules were proposed that would protect patents on brand name drugs in Central and South America.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr uses President Bush's hundred-day mark to discuss the administration's foreign policy with Robert Hunter, former ambassador to NATO, and Richard Perle, former assistant secretary of defense for international security policy.

NPR's Kenneth Walker in Johannesburg reports long-simmering differences within South Africa's ruling party burst into the open this week with allegations that three prominent members of the party were plotting to oust President Thabo Mbeki.

Finance ministers and bankers are gathered in Washington this weekend for a meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. They will need to address several difficult issues including a slowdown in global growth and financial crises in two big emerging markets. NPR's John Ydstie reports.

President Bush campaigned last year on a promise to restore the power and morale of the United States armed forces. But this year he introduced his first budget with scarcely any increase in spending for the military. The president said he wanted to conduct a strategic review of all U.S. defense needs. That review is nearly complete now, and it appears some weapons systems long sought or supported by the Pentagon are on the chopping block. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from the Pentagon.

Linda Wertheimer talks sports with Stefan Fatsis of the Wall Street Journal. This weeks topic: the internationalization of sports. Earlier this month, a Japanese-born pitcher faced a Japanese-born hitter -- the first time ever in Major League Baseball. The presence of foreign athletes can also be felt in other sports, including hockey and pro-basketball. Stefan says with all the focus on money in sports, this development is refreshing and exciting.

NPR Film Critic Bob Mondello reviews The Claim, a new movie from British director Michael Winterbottom that transplants a Thomas Hardy novel to the American West at the height of the gold rush.

From member station WNYC, Beth Fertig reports on a decision by the state of New York to require small, alternative schools to participate in the state testing program. Educators at these "break the mold" schools say that will stifle the creativity that makes them successful with students who feel lost in larger, more structured schools.