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NASA's investigation into the Columbia disaster is now wide open. The space agency says there's just not enough evidence to back the theory that damage to the shuttle's protective heat tiles caused the crash. At today's memorial service for the Columbia astronauts at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., NASA chief Sean O'Keefe pledged the agency would find the cause of the accident and continue with space exploration. NPR's Richard Harris reports on the progress of the investigation.

NPR's Lynn Neary talks with New York Times reporter Ben Weiser about Attorney General John Ashcroft's decision to pursue the death penalty in 12 cases in New York and Connecticut, against the wishes of local federal prosecutors.

We read from listener comments to the program including thoughts on our coverage of the cost of medical malpractice insurance, our series on debt and the food Lewis and Clark's expedition survived on during their expedition.

The White House and Congress react to North Korea's suggestion it might launch pre-emptive attacks should it feel threatened by the United States. The administration calls the threat "saber rattling." But senior Democrats in the Senate demand the situation be treated as a crisis. NPR's David Welna reports.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) has sponsored a change in House ethics rules to allow members of Congress to take free trips to charity events. One such event is the spring excursion sponsored by DeLay's own foundation for the benefit of foster children. NPR's Peter Overby reports that the rule change has critics crying "foul."

The United States "burned" some intelligence sources when Secretary Powell told the U.N. Security Council yesterday what those had revealed. But American intelligence agencies believe the sources were not of great importance and contend that the loss of sources was outweighed by the need to convince the world that Iraq still conceals illegal weapons programs. NPR's Mike Shuster reports.

Storyteller Kevin Kling remembers being young and in great fear of a young girl with a baseball bat. The story turns to thoughts of war, Vietnam draft-dodging and friendship.

NASA is exploring several theories about what could have caused the break-up of the space shuttle Columbia. One likely cause also is one of the most difficult to prove -- that the space shuttle was hit by a piece of debris in orbit. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

Scientific research has always been one of the main arguments for developing NASA's manned space flight program and the International Space Station. But as the future of the program comes under scrutiny in the wake of the Columbia disaster, critics argue that most of the work doesn't require humans at all. NPR's Joe Palca reports.

A video filmed in the Caribbean island of Dominica shows workers, who were clearing part of a rainforest, hoisting an enormous boa constrictor off the ground with the help of construction equipment.