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The streets of South St. Petersburg, Florida are quiet today. The city is cleaning up from last night's riot - over 20 buildings burned, stores were looted and at least 11 people were injured. Police and community leaders met today to try to keep the situation calm. The riot began when a white police officer shot and killed a black motorist. From member station WUSF, Sally Watt reports.

to relax limits on intelligence gathering by the Department's anti-terrorist division. The ATD had been operating under harsh restrictions imposed in 1984, following a court battle with the ACLU. The city council was expected to pass the new plan, with little opposition.

Author Patrick Chamoiseau's (sham-wah-ZOHZ) home island of Martinique was irrevocably changed by the abolition of slavery over a century and a half ago...and the migration of former plantation slaves to the city is the focus of his novel. Originally written in a mixture of French and Creole, it won France's most prestigious literary award--the Prix-Goncourt (PREE-gonn-CORE) --in 1992, and has just been translated into English. Alan Cheuse has a review. (STATIONS: "Texaco" will be published at the end of February by Pantheon.)

this week that will determine the admissibility of some forensic evidence in the Oklahoma City bombing trial. Defense lawyers are challenging the government's list of expert witnesses, many of whom have come under scrutiny for allegedly botching the collection and testing of evidence from the bomb scene.

David Willey reports from Palermo, Sicily, that delegates from around the world signed a treaty this week on combating trans-national crime. The treaty pledges the signatories to take measures against money laundering and includes protocols against the smuggling of immigrants and trafficking in women. The conference was held in Palermo -- the birthplace of the Cosa Nostra mafia. The city has now taken great strides to root out organized crime.

Morning Edition commentators share their ideas on how to jump-start the U.S. economy. Strategies range from placing a moratorium on payroll taxes to enforcing "regime change" in Iraq. And one commentator thinks an airdrop of cash over major American cities would solve the nation's money woes.

NPR's Scott Simon talks with Weekend Edition sports commentator Ron Rapoport about the year in sports. From the Olympic figure skating flap in Salt Lake City to the controversy over women at Augusta National, women were at the center of two big sports stories in 2002. Ron and Scott also make early Super Bowl predictions.

NPR's Alex Chadwick talks to writer Verlyn Klinkenborg about his new book, The Rural Life, a collection of essays about life in the countryside in different parts of America. Klinkenborg lives part of the week in New York City, and part of the week on a farm in upstate New York.

Los Angeles' new police chief, William Bratton, faces his first major test as the city's murder rate hits a six-year high. The African-American community demands an end to the violence, yet urges the LAPD to exercise restraint as it increases neighborhood patrols. NPR's Andy Bowers reports.

Financial troubles at Greater Southeast Community Hospital in Washington, D.C., threaten to disrupt treatment for many of the city's poorest residents. A possible shutdown leaves residents wondering where they'll go for emergency treatment. Lisa Nurnberger reports.