Search results for

As NASA officials study data and debris from space shuttle Columbia, the initial focus is on an accident at liftoff that may have caused a chain of problems that led to catastrophe. But experts say little could have been done to rescue the ship, even if launch problems had been considered a threat to the mission. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

The Pentagon puts bombers on alert for possible deployment near North Korea. The apparent message is that the Bush administration is not too distracted by Iraq to respond to a threat on the Korean peninsula. But the administration says it's committed to a diplomatic solution to North Korea's renewed pursuit of nuclear weapons. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

NASA is exploring several theories about what could have caused the break-up of the space shuttle Columbia. One likely cause also is one of the most difficult to prove -- that the space shuttle was hit by a piece of debris in orbit. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

The White House and Congress react to North Korea's suggestion it might launch pre-emptive attacks should it feel threatened by the United States. The administration calls the threat "saber rattling." But senior Democrats in the Senate demand the situation be treated as a crisis. NPR's David Welna reports.

Mitch Daniels, the White House budget director, undergoes bipartisan grilling by the Senate Budget Committee over the $2.23 trillion budget President Bush sent to Congress. Committee members pressed Daniels to answer how the budget could assume a new round of tax cuts amid forecasts of record red-ink spending. NPR's David Welna reports.

The White House prepares to reveal intelligence to the U.N. Security Council in hopes of persuading reluctant members that Iraq remains in defiance of U.N. resolutions on weapons. Secretary of State Colin Powell is to present the evidence Wednesday. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

NPR's Lawrence Sheets reports from the Korolyov Space Center outside Moscow where ground controllers monitored today's successful docking of the Russian cargo ship Progress with the international space station. The Progress brought vital food, water and fuel to the three-man crew. With the American shuttle fleet grounded because of the Columbia tragedy, attention is focused again on Russia's ailing space program and what it can contribute to keep space station Alpha going.

In the third part of a Morning Edition series on terrorism in Southeast Asia, NPR's Michael Sullivan reports Malaysian authorities now fear attacks could happen in their country, despite a crackdown on terrorist operatives. The primarily Muslim nation of 20 million people sandwiched between Thailand and Singapore has not yet been a terrorist target. But Malaysian authorities are worried that another Bali style bombing could happen in their country.

A week after it posts the largest loss in corporate history, AOL Time Warner works to get back on its feet. But the media giant, which lost nearly $100 billion last year, faces large debts left over from its earlier mergers. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Democratic presidential hopefuls are already competing to command the largest share of the black vote in 2004, and to increase the turnout at polls. White candidates must contend with the Rev. Al Sharpton, and possibly former Illinois senator Carol Moseley-Braun. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.