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Michigan-based Kmart Corporation says it will close more than 300 stores and eliminate more than 35,000 jobs in the coming months. The move comes one year after the discount chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Jerome Vaughn of member station WDET reports.

Government grants are now being awarded to non-profit organizations, including religious groups, that advocate marriage. Critics say the move violates the separation of church and state. Polls continue to support President Bush's faith-based initiatives. NPR's Janet Babin reports.

The courts will decide who gets to keep the Picasso painting "Femme en Blanc," now in a private collection in Chicago. It first belonged to a Jewish couple in Berlin, but was taken by the Nazis. The last living descendant of the original owners has sued to recover the artwork. NPR's Jason DeRose reports.

The 108th Congress convenes with Republicans in control of both houses. Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) announces he won't make a bid for the White House. And amid partisan bickering, the Senate passes a measure to extend benefits for jobless Americans. NPR's David Welna reports.

Federal investigators probe the crash of a commuter flight at Charlotte, N.C. The Air Midwest turboprop was operated by US Airways Express. It was bound for Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C. All 19 passengers and two crew members died. Scott Jagow of member station WFAE reports.

In New Jersey, investigations continue into who bears responsibility for the death of 7-year-old Faheem Williams. His body was discovered last weekend a day after his two brothers were rescued from the same locked basement of a Newark house. The children had earlier been in the care of the state's child welfare system. Nancy Solomon reports.

Heretofore, zoologists believed that only primates (humans, chimps and possibly other apes) could recognize their own images in a mirror. Self-recognition is one of those things that sets some of us apart from other animals. Well, as NPR's John Nielsen reports, dolphins also now make the grade, according to some ingenious experiments in tanks with mirrors.

Brad Graham, is on leave from the Washington Post as a Pentagon reporter. He's writing a book titled Hit to Kill: The New Battle Over Defending America Against Missile Attack. Noah Adams talks to Graham about the development of the idea of missile defense -- from the Reagan-era discussion about "Star Wars," to the current modes of thinking. (4:15) Graham's book is due for publication in November.

NPR's Nina Totenberg reports on today's Supreme Court ruling that poor people may use federally funded lawyers to sue over the loss of welfare benefits. Congress has imposed restrictions on the use of Legal Services attorneys, but the justices said the limits unconstitutionally restricted the exercise of free speech. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the 5-4 majority that the government cannot infringe on first amendment rights to protect itself from court challenges.

Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said today while the economy is still sluggish, it has performed somewhat better in the first two months of 2001. His remarks to a House committee suggest that the Fed is still prepared to cut interest rates at its March 20 meeting, but won't act before then. Wall Street had been hoping for immediate action. Stock prices fell after Greenspan's speech. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.