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Some libraries are now facing an existential threat: They could lose their public funding over books deemed inappropriate for young readers.

Rumors are swirling about the make up of President Bush's second term cabinet. Alexis Simendinger, a White House correspondent for National Journal, talks about the significance of changes and the contenders for some Cabinet positions.

The journalist, fatigued with stories of hopelessness and despair, writes a book about people who have the courage to resist extremism — sometimes just by playing basketball.

Daniel talks with Dr. Alexis Clare, a fiber optics specialist at Alfred University in New York, about the stealthy properties of polar bear hair. She explains that because the hair prevents the bear from emitting any body heat, polar bears resist detection by infrared devices. They also resist ultraviolet detection.

Robert talks to Seymour Martin Lipset, author of "American Exceptionalism: A Double Edged Sword." (W.W. Norton & Company) Lipset says that many of the characteristics that Alexis de Tocqueville described as uniquely American still exist in our society today and continue to make the United States different from other countries. But Lipset notes these characteristics have a negative side, too.

-- NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on how work at the Labor Department is being affected by the fact that there is no secretary. Senate Republicans are blocking a confirmation vote on Alexis Herman, President Clinton's nominee to succeed Robert Reich, who left the administration four months ago and work is backing up at the Department.

NPR's Alex Chadwick speaks with Harvey Mansfield, the editor and translator of the newest edition of, Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville. De Tocqueville's visit to the fledgling United States 170 years ago led to an analysis of our political and social systems that are surprisingly relevant today.

As Mexicans migrate to the United States, many are leaving their children behind in the care of extended families. That's causing problems in their home communities: children are doing poorly in school, dropping out and turning to criminal activity.

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott says Alexis Herman's confirmation as Labor Secretary is being held up by questions about her political activities when she worked at the White House. The Republican-led Senate is looking into Herman's role in a White House gathering last year, in which President Clinton and the Comptroller of the Currency met with banking industry executives. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

Alexis Sinduhije, a Burundian journalist, will receive an International Press Freedom Award this week from the Committee to Protect Journalists. Sinduhije is the founder of Radio Publique Africaine, a radio station that has brought together Hutu and Tusti reporters. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden and Sinduhije.