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Friday February 28, 2003

NASA Shows 'Final Moments' Videotape from Columbia

February 28, 2003 • NASA releases a videotape recorded on the space shuttle Columbia shortly before it broke up over Texas. The portion of the tape retrieved by NASA ends with the orbiter at 250,000 feet, approaching the coast of California. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and NPR's Melissa Block.

NASA Shows 'Final Moments' Videotape from Columbia

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Radio Expeditions

Revisiting the Birth of the Bomb, Part 2

February 28, 2003 • Alex Chadwick has the second of a two-part NPR/National Geographic Radio Expedition to the remote New Mexico test site where the most terrifying weapon ever -- the atomic bomb -- was born.

Revisiting the Birth of the Bomb, Part 2

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Thursday February 27, 2003

Radio Expeditions

Revisiting the Birth of the Bomb

February 27, 2003 • The United Nations continues to debate war with Iraq over its weapons of mass destruction. These weapons seem all the more frightening because of worries they could fall into the hands of terrorists. For National Geographic's Radio Expeditions, NPR's Alex Chadwick visited Trinity, the remote New Mexico test site where the most terrifying weapon ever -- the atomic bomb -- was born.

Revisiting the Birth of the Bomb

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House Passes Ban on Human Clon

February 27, 2003 • Following a lengthy debate on science and life, the House passes a ban on all human cloning. The measure covers clones created for medical research, and envisions stiff fines and prison sentences for violators. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

House Passes Ban on Human Clon

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Space Station Options Limited

February 27, 2003 • NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe briefs a congressional committee on options for the International Space Station while the space shuttle fleet is grounded. NASA's options, he says, are limited. Meanwhile, the probe into Columbia's demise continues. Hear reports from NPR's Joe Palca and NPR's Richard Harris.

All Things Considered audio

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Wednesday February 26, 2003

NASA: Shuttle E-mail

February 26, 2003 • NASA releases e-mails demonstrating that a day before space shuttle Columbia's demise, engineers privately worried about the impact of tile damage sustained at launch. The e-mails explored prophetic "what-if" scenarios that concluded the orbiter could lose its left wing and break up high in the atmosphere. Hear NPR's Richard Harris.

NASA: Shuttle E-mail

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Saturday February 22, 2003

Weather Patterns May Forecast War Plans in Iraq

February 22, 2003 • Weather conditions in Iraq are likely to shape the timing and strategy of a potential U.S. military invasion. It's still relatively cool in the desert in March, but temperatures begin to soar past 100 soon after. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

Monday February 17, 2003

Humanitarian Groups Prepare for Possible U.S. War on Iraq

February 17, 2003 • Many non-governmental aid groups prepare for the possibility of war in Iraq, predicting that hundreds of thousands of civilians will die and millions more will suffer disease and hunger. But preparations are complicated by ongoing U.N. sanctions and restricted travel. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Thursday February 13, 2003

Understanding a Childhood Asthma Epidemic

February 13, 2003 • In the 1980s and 1990s, asthma rates in U.S. kids reached epidemic proportions. Though studies indicate the rates are leveling off, rates for African American and Hispanic children and inner-city populations aren't declining. New research suggests poverty, stress and poor mental health may be fueling the problem. Madge Kaplan of member station WGBH reports.

Understanding a Childhood Asthma Epidemic

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Tuesday February 4, 2003

Bush Budget Aims to Reshape Health-Care Programs

February 4, 2003 • President Bush's 2004 budget proposal includes major new health initiatives to address the AIDS epidemic in Africa and the Caribbean, as well as changes to Medicare and Medicaid. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Bush Budget Aims to Reshape Health-Care Programs

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NASA Doubts 'Contingencies' Could Have Saved Crew

February 4, 2003 • 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.

NASA Doubts 'Contingencies' Could Have Saved Crew

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Columbia Debris Search Expands

February 4, 2003 • Space shuttle Columbia's nose cone is found in the eastern Texas woods. Recovery teams hunting for debris from the Feb. 1 disaster spread out further Tuesday, searching as far west as Arizona. NPR's Eric Niiler reports.

Columbia Debris Search Expands

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Monday February 3, 2003

Bush Pushes Health Spending

February 3, 2003 • President Bush's budget proposal calls for significant changes to Medicare and Medicaid.

Friday January 31, 2003

CDC Reports on Environmental Toxins in Humans

January 31, 2003 • A government report finds that efforts to limit human exposure to toxins aren't helping kids as much as they are helping adults. The report, issued today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that children between the ages of 6-11 are sponging up the chemicals found in cigarette smoke and soft plastic toys. It also found that Mexican-Americans have abnormal levels of the pesticide DDT in their bodies and that pregnant women carry more mercury than expected. NPR's John Nielsen reports that federal officials say they are concerned but not alarmed by the findings.

CDC Reports on Environmental Toxins in Humans

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Thursday January 30, 2003

Scientists Explain Four-Year Drought

January 30, 2003 • An unprecedented warm-up of the western Pacific Ocean -- scientists think that partially explains a drought that has caused havoc across much of the United States, southern Europe and southwest Asia. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

ATC

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