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Norway has launched a unique construction project on the remote Norwegian island of Svalbard, halfway between the Arctic Circle and the North Pole. It's an underground vault for agricultural seeds, a kind of Noah's Ark for millions of varieties of wheat, rice, and hundreds of other crops that farmers no longer plant in their fields. For a soft-spoken man from western Tennessee named Cary Fowler, it's the culmination of a lifelong -- and controversial -- campaign.

Brian Lies imagines a different kind of trip to the beach in his picture book, Bats at the Beach. Our ambassador to the world of children's literature, Daniel Pinkwater, talks with Scott Simon about the book.

The combination of writing talent and juicy material on display in Sean Wilsey's memoir Oh the Glory of It All is what has author Curtis Sittenfeld singing its praises to others. The people and places described "come explosively and thrillingly alive," says the author of Prep.

The Bush administration overstepped its authority in ordering a military war crimes trial for a Guantanamo Bay detainee, the U.S. Supreme Court rules. The decision came in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a former bodyguard and driver for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Slate legal analyst Dahlia Lithwick and Alex Chadwick discusses what the ruling means for detainees.

The President meets regularly with his top advisers about the security situation in Iraq. His National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley attends these meetings. He talks with Steve Inskeep about what the president wants to know, and what he needs to know.

A draft law being reviewed by China's legislature would impose fines on the Chinese media if they report on "sudden events" without official approval from local governments. Wall Street Journal reporter Geoffrey Fowler says those "sudden events" could include things such as mining disasters, health scares and riots.

Voters in the oil-rich Gulf Emirate of Kuwait go to the polls. Candidates are vying for 50 seats in Parliament. For the first time, women are allowed to vote and run for office. Female candidates have struggled to gain recognition but their efforts, and an anti-corruption movement, have shaken up the quiet country.

In Houston, a retrial begins for Andrea Yates, the mother who claims she was insane when she drowned her five young children in a bathtub in 2001. An earlier conviction was thrown out.

Japan's prime minister says Tokyo would respond harshly if North Korea tests a long-range missile. U.S. officials have said North Korea appears to have completed fuelling for a test of a long-range ballistic missile that could possibly reach Alaska. Steve Inskeep talks to reporter Lucy Craft in Tokyo about the situation.

The U.S. soccer team manages a 1-1 tie with Italy in World Cup play, a result made more suprising by the ejection of two American players. The outcome keeps the U.S. alive in the World Cup, but they need help to advance to the next round.