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In his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, President Bush highlighted a strong domestic economy, cited progress in democratizing Iraq and claimed success in fighting terrorism. John Ydstie examines some of the assertions put forth in the speech.

Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, discusses concerns that recent natural disasters will affect long-term fundraising efforts. Many charities not involved in the relief operations can expect a dip in contributions, but Palmer says it's not known if the number of disasters will push the national economy into a slide, causing a long-term reduction in donations.

Wallace & Gromit is bringing unwanted attention to a cheese maker in England. Wallace is a well-known lover of cheese; the latest film mentions a rare cheese called Stinking Bishop, made by Charles Martell on a farm in Gloucestershire, England. He says the notoriety is already creating too much demand on his small business.

For the eleventh straight night, France has been rocked by riots following the deaths of two teenagers of Mauritanian and Tunisian origin. Monday, French police reported the death of a man who was beaten up in a Paris suburb on Friday. President Jacques Chirac has vowed to punish those responsible.

Ben Bernanke, President Bush's pick to succeed Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve chairman, tells lawmakers he would seek to maintain continuity with Greenspan's policies. Bernanke also said he would not pursue a specific inflation target without building consensus for change in the existing policy.

Michele Norris talks to Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) about the compromise amendment he hammered out with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Levin is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Jordanians have roundly condemned suicide bombings in Amman carried out by Iraqi insurgents loyal to Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi last week. But most Jordanians say they continue to support Iraqi resistance to U.S. occupation.

Steve Inskeep talks with David Wessel, deputy Washington bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal about what we can expect from Bernanke's confirmation hearings Tuesday.

As even a cursory examination of the history of the laws of war shows, presidents from Washington to Reagan have long championed the idea of humane treatment of prisoners as a cornerstone of U.S. policy.

Jeff Hawkins created the PalmPilot and Treo smart phone. His new company, Numenta, is developing a type of computer memory system modeled after the human neocortex, what he calls the "the big wrinkly thing" at the top of the brain. He's also the co-author of the book On Intelligence, which details his vision of how the brain processes information.