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NPR's Tom Gjelten reports President George W Bush and his team have promised a tough line against Iraq. That commitment is setting up what looks like the Administration's first foreign policy challenge. U.S. officials say Saddam Hussein has rebuilt facilities for manufacturing weapons of mass destruction and is preparing for illegal oil exports. The new Bush Administration may feel compelled to move against the Iraqi regime, but its military options are highly limited.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that new Philippines' President Arroyo has called a summit on garbage -- a problem that has reached crisis proportions in Manila. The capital city is awash in trash, partly because only six percent of Manila's garbage is recycled, far less than in European and American cities. The garbage is piled into mountainous dumps, one of which is more than 100 feet high. The dump, known as "the promised land," provides a livelihood, of sorts, for thousands of scavengers. It also is extremely dangerous. Last summer, it collapsed, killing at least 200 people.

Since California's power system went haywire, there's been a renewal of interest among West Coast cities in public providers of power. {Public power advocates say electricity from municipally owned companies is cheaper and more reliable.} But not everyone likes the idea of cities getting into the power-generating business. {Detractors say it's expensive and that lower prices are no sure thing.} NPR's Elaine Korry has a report.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports that thousands of people danced through the streets of Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti, today as Jean Bertrande Aristide was sworn in as president. This will be the second term for the former Roman Catholic priest, who was ousted by a military coup in 1991, shortly into his first term, and then returned to power by U-S troops three years later. Poor Haitians welcome the return of Aristide, with his promises to bring change to the Caribbean nation. But his legitimacy is being challenged by a coalition of opposition parties. Charging election fraud, they have named their own provisional president.

Phillip Davis reports that efforts are under way in Florida to restore voting rights to ex-felons. In last November's presidential election, 525,000 ex-felons in Florida sat on the sidelines while the contest was decided by a margin of 537 votes. Florida is one of only ten states that permanently revokes voting rights from people who have committed a felony -- even after they have served their sentences and re-entered society.

After eight months of investigation, a grand jury says the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Long Island, N.Y., failed to shield children from sexually abusive priests. The jury also calls for changes in state laws to protect children from abusive priests. Amy Eddings of member station WNYC reports.

Nominations for the 75th Academy Awards are announced. Chicago receives 13 nominations, including nods for best picture, director and actress Renee Zellweger. Gangs of New York gets 10 nominations, including director Martin Scorsese, while The Hours receives nine, including lead actress Nicole Kidman and supporting actress Julianne Moore. Hear film reporter Pat Dowell.

The top prizes in science this year recognize inventions that have changed our lives and that could shape the future. The physics award will be shared by people who developed the computer chip and figured out surprising new ways to get semiconductors to do other tricks, such as emitting light. The prize in chemistry goes to researchers who developed plastics that can conduct electricity. NPR's Richard Harris reports. (4:00) Note: The words god damn appear near the end of the third actuality of this piece.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports from Tallahassee, where a committee of the Florida state legislature voted to authorize a special session that would consider the appointment of presidential electors. The race between Al Gore and George W. Bush remains deadlocked over the results in Florida, with the stalemate threatening to go beyond the December 12th deadline to certify electors. Republicans, who control the Florida legislature, want lawmakers to be in position to name the electors if a presidential winner is still unnamed. But the electors would certainly be Republican electors, and furious Democrats insist that any involvement by the legislature at this stage would be premature.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports officials at the international war crimes tribunal in the Hague are pleased that the new president of Yugoslavia has toned down Belgrade's rhetoric against the court. Tribunal officials are also happy about cooperation from the new Yugoslav authorities in their investigation into the finances of former president Slobodan Milosevic. However, prosecutors are adamant that Milosevic and other accused war criminals be turned over to the Hague -- a move the new Yugoslav president, Vojislav Kostunica seems to have ruled out.