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Commentator Stephen Kuusisto recalls a night in his childhood when he and some friends broke into an abandoned farmhouse in western New York state. The evening is tinged with anxiety about going to fight in the Vietnam War, since the boys all are teenagers.

This week, New Jersey physicians are staying off the job to protest rising malpractice prices. In doing so, they join the ranks of doctors in several states who've taken similar action. President Bush and Congress are seriously considering putting caps on jury awards to try to bring expenses down. That is a very controversial idea. In this report Patricia Neighmond talks to experts about why expenses are rising.

He is also known as "?uestlove" of the hip-hop group The Roots. The Grammy award-winning sextet has six albums to its credit. Their latest CD is Phrenology. Their first single from the album is "Break You Off." One reviewer writes, "To fully savor the sound, you've got to commit to spending time with The Roots, to wallow in both the music and the message. There's Chuck Berry-style rock-and-roll, jazz fusion, funk, poetry, shoutouts to hip-hop pioneers, lyrical slaps upside the heads of money-mad rappers, black nationalism and some groove-laden neo-soul musings."

The remains of Columbia astronauts are flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, while investigators continue to recover and study shuttle fragments. Meanwhile, two in Texas are charged with theft of government property for looting shuttle debris. Hear NPR's Richard Harris and NPR's Larry Abramson.

A federal judge has restored high school basketball standout LeBron James' eligiblity to play for his school. The young man who is expected to turn pro right out of high school was declared ineligible by the Ohio Athletic Association because he'd accepted valuable jerseys from a Cleveland sporting goods store, a violation of the code of conduct for high school athletes. NPR's Michele Norris speaks with Vincent Duffy of member station WKSU in Kent, Oh.

At the Security Council today, Iraq's U.N. ambassador dismissed the evidence presented by Colin Powell. Mohammed Aldouri said the Secretary of State could have "spared the council the time." Programs to develop weapons of mass destruction are "huge" Aldouri said, and not "easily hidden." He accused the United States of fabricating evidence. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, Gen. Amir al-Saadi told a news conference, "What we heard today was for the general public and mainly the uninformed in order to influence their opinion and to commit aggression on Iraq." NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

NASA engineers are pursuing competing theories about what may have caused the catastrophic breakup of the space shuttle Columbia. NPR's Larry Abramson reports on how forensic investigators keep a constantly open mind until the evidence for one theory becomes so strong that it leaves no room for doubt.

NPR's Richard Gonzales reports that several of the jurors who convicted a California man on marijuana charges last week took the unusual step this week of issuing a public apology. Grower Ed Rosenthal was convicted under federal law, which does not allow marijuana to be cultivated for any reason. During the trial, jurors were not told that Rosenthal was growing marijuana for medicinal purposes, which is allowed in California and eight other states. When they found out afterward, they called for a new trial.

Since the end of the Cold War, civilian contractors become vital to the military as armed forces shrink by more than a third. If America goes to war against Iraq, not everyone in battle will be in uniform -- and many civilians will be close to the frontlines. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

Secretary of State Colin Powell provides detailed evidence against Saddam Hussein to the U.N. Security Council and lists ways America says Iraq is continuing to develop weapons and help terrorists. Iraq's U.N. ambassador responds. Hear reports from NPR's Vicky O'Hara and NPR's Michele Kelemen.

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Stefan Fatsis, sportswriter for The Wall Street Journal about this weekend's National Basketball Association All-Star game in Atlanta. The game will feature Michael Jordan in, presumably, his final all-star appearance. A big topic of discussion among players is a petition by two 17-year-old Europeans to gain early entry into the league.

He invented the Segway Human Transporter, a high-tech scooter. The scooter relies on sensors, sold-state gyroscopes and software to produce a balanced ride even over rough terrain. Kamen's other inventions include a portable drug-infusion pump, a compact dialysis machine and a wheelchair that can climb stairs. Kamen heads DEKA Research and Development Corporation in New Hampshire.