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NPR's Ted Clark reports on the many problems confronting Colombia's President Andres Pastrana, who meets with President Bush today at the White House. Those problems include the illegal drug trade, insurgent and paramilitary violence, and a troubled economy. Although there are concerns in both countries about American involvement in Colombia, the U.S. is cautiously providing the nation with military assistance.

NPR's Julie Rovner speculates on how President Bush will deal with several key abortion issues within the next few months: the so-called 'abortion drug' RU486, and medical research on human embryos.

NPR's Rob Gifford reports that the Chinese government today struck back at the United States, calling it hypocritical on human rights. China went on the offensive after the U.S. released a State Department report yesterday, saying that China's human rights record has greatly deteriorated over the past year. Chinese officials discussed the issue during a news conference as U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson was in Beijing. The Chinese government didn't like her remarks either, saying she was ignorant of China's situation. She is pressing China to abolish its "re-education through labor" policy, under which minor offenders can be locked up for several years, without any judicial process.

Secretary of State Colin Powell sought support for revised sanctions against Iraq while in the Middle East this week. New sanctions would include easing restrictions on Iraqi imports of civilian goods while tightening controls over military technology transfers -- that would mean reinstating U.N. weapons inspectors. Iraq called the revised sanctions "rubish", saying they would never allow weapons inspectors back in the country. Robert Siegel talks with Meghan L. O'Sullivan about the effects of sanctions on Iraq and what the revised sanctions mean. O'Sullivan is a fellow at the Brooking Institution, specializing in economic sanctions, and co-author of the book Honey and Vinegar: Incentives, Sanctions and Foreign Policy.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Brussels that Secretary of State Colin Powell wrapped up a foreign tour with a stop at NATO headquarters today. He reassured allies that the United States has no plans to withdraw prematurely from the Balkans. When Powell arrived, plans for missile defense and a European rapid reaction force were high on the agenda. But the allies decided to focus on events in the Balkans -- particularly attacks by ethnic Albanian rebels in southern Serbia and Macedonia.

NPR's Alex Chadwick traipses through an Australian forest custom-grown for koala bears. He learns that koalas have the finicky appetites of toddlers -- they eat eucalyptus leaves, or nothing at all.

NPR's Howard Berkes reports on a newly released CD-ROM with searchable archives of a Civil War-era bank used by former slaves. For more information on the searchable archives, check out www.media.lds.org

Host Bob Edwards highlights the life of award-winning poet, A.R. Ammons. He died Sunday at the age of 75.

Mark Moran, from member station KJZZ, reports on a new tax on tourists in Arizona, that will help build a state-of-the-art football stadium in Phoenix.

Host Bob Edwards talks with Robert Schmuhl, author of Statecraft and Stagecraft: American Political Life in the Age of Personality. They discuss tonight's speech by President Bush, his first address to Congress. (4:04) (Please note: The introduction to this interview misstates the size of President Bush's tax cut. The correct figure is $1.6 trillion.)

In the last part of Morning Edition's February series on what makes a city great, NPR's Susan Stamberg hears how a rich cultural mix, great shopping, and exotic food made people head to London and Amsterdam in droves -- in the 1600's. She speaks with author and historian Simon Schama about the color -- and the dreck, drugs and drink -- of these great cities three centuries ago.

Joshua Levs of member station WABE reports that today is the deadline for pilots to reach an agreement with Delta Airlines. They had been negotiating wages and benefits in their contract with the airline, but the focus now is which planes they fly. As tensions mount in the airline industry, President Bush could impose a two-month cooling-off period.