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NPR's Richard Harris reports that NASA is dismissing the theory that the primary cause of the space shuttle Columbia disaster was damage from a piece of foam insulation that broke off and struck the shuttle during liftoff. NASA is instead focusing on overheating inside the left wing during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere and reviewing the last seconds of data from the shuttle.

NPR's Chris Joyce reports on what NASA learned from a study conducted after the space shuttle Challenger blew up in 1986 and what the findings might tell investigators about the disintegration of the shuttle Columbia on Saturday. A 1994 study by the engineering firm SAIC concluded that, aside from engine failure, the highest risk for a space shuttle is not from damage to heat protective tiles, but rather from failure of the auxiliary power units. The APU's run the hydraulics that, in turn, control steering during reentry into the atmosphere.

As the Biden administration prepares to negotiate reductions in fossil fuel use at the Glasgow climate summit at the end of the month, U.S. coal production is actually up significantly this year.

NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports Secretary of State Colin Powell goes before a key Senate committee today, as members of Congress take stock of the evidence he presented to the United Nations yesterday. Some Democrats say if the United States attacks Iraq, it must maintain a peace-keeping force there for years to come.

In December 2001, alleged members of the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah had a plan: bomb the U.S., Australian and Israeli embassies in Singapore, steal and fly a jet into the terminal at Singapore's Changi airport, and attack a visiting U.S. warship at Singapore's naval port. Singaporean authorities stopped the plot in time. If the attacks had succeeded, they would have been the most deadly since Sept. 11 -- and would have had devastating ripple effects on the economy of the region. In part four of our series on terrorism in Southeast Asia, NPR's Michael Sullivan looks at the plot and how it was thwarted.

Sprint Corporation confirms its two top executives are leaving the company. The Wall Street Journal reports that CEO William Esrey and President Ronald LeMay were forced out in a boardroom dispute over their use of a tax shelter. Matt Hackworth of member station KCUR reports.

Bob Edwards reads from listener comments.

NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports that the U.N. Security Council has between now and next Friday to decide what, if anything, to do about Iraq, based on the newly declassified intelligence information that U.S. Secretary of State Powell presented yesterday. Powell used satellite photos and intercepted telephone communications to buttress the U.S. position that Saddam Hussein has and continues to develop chemical and biological weapons. Britain continues to support the United States, but other European allies are reluctant to approve possible military action.

A federal grand jury indicts two people in Texas for allegedly stealing pieces of debris from the space shuttle Columbia. Meanwhile, authorities announce an amnesty period, saying no charges will be filed against those who voluntarily turn in debris by 5 p.m. Feb. 7. NPR's Greg Allen reports.

The Houston Symphony gave a free concert last night

NPR's Guy Raz wraps up the reaction in Europe to Secretary of State Colin Powell's presentation outlining the threat posed by Saddam Hussein.

Every Thursday in February, NPR Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg will examine the concept of time; what it is, how best to use it and why it is we never seem to have enough of it. In the first of the series, Susan Stamberg talks with James Gleick, author of Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything, to find out why it seems time is always in short supply. (Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything, published by Vintage Books, ISBN: 067977548X)