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President Bush's first term brought some of the largest tax cuts in U.S. history. In his second term, he wants to revamp the tax code altogether; some in Congress favor a tax based on what people spend, not on what they earn. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

In much of the U.S. and Canada this week, the night sky is alight with the spectacular displays of red, green and white lights from the aurora borealis. NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Anthony Arrigo on UtahSkies.org.

Near the National Mall are memorials to the veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. In commemoration of Veteran's Day, servicemen at these memorial sites tell their stories and discuss the current conflict in Iraq. Hear NPR's Brian Naylor.

A survey by a group called The Catalogue for Philanthropy finds the poorest American states score the highest on their "generosity index" for 2004 -- an annual scorecard ranking states by how much their residents give to charities in proportion to how much they have. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden and George McCully, a trustee of the Ellis L. Phillips Foundation and project coordinator for The Catalogue for Philanthropy.

In Sri Lanka, the death toll from the tsunami is now above 28,000. In the village of Ahangama, volunteers delivered blankets and bags of rice to survivors. The government declares a national day of mourning, but many people didn't need an official declaration. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports.

Fishing communities along the Indian Ocean are reeling from the devastation wrought by Sunday's tsunami, and whole fishing fleets are in ruins. Offshore, fish communities could be equally devastated -- and the impact this will have on local fishing communities could be long-lasting. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden and Fernanda Guerrieri, an official with the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization.

Lily Tuck is one of the five National Book Awards finalists -- each of them women, each of them writing in New York City. Tuck led the life of a very obscure novelist until she was nominated for Letters from Paraguay. Tuck tells Martha Woodroof about her account of two lovers tangled in a mid-19th century war that wiped out 90 percent of Paraguay's male population.

The United States continues to send weapons and machinery to Ukraine to help in its war against Russia. The increase in shipments includes much needed howitzers from a U.S. base in Delaware.

NPR's Sheilah Kast reviews the past week's developments in response to last Sunday's tsunami and plans by the Bush Administration and the world community to provide humanitarian relief. For a perspective on the week's events, Kast spoke with: former USAID administrator J. Brian Atwood; Jessica Mathews, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Walter Russell Mead; Brookings Institution senior fellow Michael O'Hanlon; and J. Edward Fox, assistant administrator of USAID.

Musician and writer Miles Hoffman says the great composer, born 234 years ago this week in Bonn, Germany, is still revered for his forceful music — and admired for writing a share of it after losing his hearing.