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The Supreme Court today voted to limit punitive damages. The case involved an Alabama doctor who had been awarded two million dollars because the paint on his new BMW had been touched up. The decision is a victory for manufacturers, but the justices did not provide clear guidance on limits for future awards. NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports.

Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary apologized today for mismanaging her expensive overseas official travel. But she also defended the trips, in her testimony before the House Commerce investigations subcommittee. O'Leary said her missions abroad generated business for American firms and benefitted U-S foreign policy. NPR's John Nielsen reports.

Deborah Amos reports that an American court is considering a case against Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadich. Karadich has been indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague, but no trial can take place there unless Karadich is arrested. He's still at large in Bosnian Serb territory, but Amos says that won't hamper the American court proceeding.

NPR's John Ydstie reports that Iraq's acceptance of a U.N. plan that would allow Iraqi oil producers to export 2 billion dollars' worth of oil likely won't bring an immediate drop in the world's oil prices. But experts say U.S. consumers can expect to see lower prices at the gasoline pump in coming months as a result of the plan.

NPR's Derek Reveron reports on the status of the investigation into the cause of the crash of Valujet flight 592. The DC-9 went down in the Florida Everglades one week ago killing 110 people. Divers today began diving missions into the crater opened up by the plane when it went down. Yesterday officials ruled out engine failure as the cause of the crash.

Noah talks with Adam Bryant, transportation reporter for the New York Times, as questions about the Federal Aviation Administration's role as cop and cheerleader to the industry grow in the wake of the crash of ValuJet Flight 592. They'll talk about how effective the F-A-A can be as a regulator of safety concerns while maintaining its stance as a representative of the airline industry.

NPR's Adam Hochberg reports that investigators in the Florida Everglades began recovering larger parts of the ill-fated ValuJet flight 592, including both engines and two tires. On the fifth day after the crash that killed 110 people, NTSB officials were also looking into tracking the oxygen generators being transported on the plane which are suspected of playing a key role in the accident.

- An American nun, sister Dianna Ortiz has been holding a vigil out in front of the White House hoping to pressure US officials to release classified documents about alleged torture in Guatemala. Ortiz says she was tortured in Guatemala in 1989 and that a North American was involved. Now, the US government has released thousands of previusly secret documents on Guatemala. Tom Gjelten reports.

- NPR's Melissa Block reports on proposed changes to US Immigration law that would require immigration officers at the airport to decide whether or not a foreigner claiming political asylum has a legitimate case. Currently, anyone declaring political asylum at the airport or border is assigned a court date for their case. If the changes are approved, they could be put immediately on a plane and sent home.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that the US is giving China one week to show it is trying to stop piracy of US movies, movies, and computer software. The US is threatening to impose 100 percent tariffs on $2 billion worth of Chinese exports if the Chinese do not comply -- roughly the amount that American companies believe they lose each year to intellectual theft.