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Commentator Andrei Codrescu brings us this glimpse of the kind of day that feeds a commentator's mind.

New research shows that plants and animals around the world are being affected by global warming. The change comes in response to a temperature increase of just one degree Fahrenheit in the past century. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

NPR's John Nielsen reports on plants that make a stink. For example: the voodoo lily. When it blooms -- people wilt.

Over the past decade the states have added safeguarding the environment to their to-do lists. Now, states struggle with the worst fiscal crisis in 50 years, and they're being forced to make tough choices and review priorities. Environmental protection moves pretty far down the list. NPR's Greg Allen reports.

Insects known as "walking sticks" have gained and lost wings several times over the last 10 million years. At least that's what a study in this week's issue of Nature magazine contends. NPR's Michele Norris talks with Michael F. Whiting, professor of evolutionary biology at Brigham Young University and lead author of Loss and Recovery of Wings in Stick Insects.

Enormous deficits loom over the federal budget this year and next. The White House is pressing Senate Republicans to trim nearly $10 billion from spending bills approved last year when Democrats ran the Senate. Democrats respond that the president's proposed tax cuts need trimming -- not federal spending. NPR's David Welna reports.

The Bush administration prepares to file a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of three white students who have challenged the University of Michigan's admissions programs. The students allege the university uses a quota system that unfairly benefits minority applicants. Hear NPR's Don Gonyea and U-M Law School Dean Jeffrey Lehman.

DuPont and other multinational corporations announce the launch of the Chicago Climate Exchange. The effort is the first major attempt at establishing a market for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Andrew Aulisi, a policy analyst with Environmental Defense.

Everyone who has ever pondered whether chicken wings serve a purpose beyond deep fat fryers and bleu cheese sauce will be bowled over by the apparent benefits of wing flapping in flightless birds. NPR's John Nielsen reports on a study in this week's Science magazine showing how true flight may have evolved from these beginnings.

NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports that a World Trade Organization court has ruled that the so-call Byrd Amendment to U.S. trade law is a violation of international trade rules. The amendment, named after Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), requires the Customs Service to hand over the anti-dumping duties it collects to the companies that brought the unfair trade complaints. Hard-pressed steel companies were the main beneficiary of the law. The U.S. Trade Representative's Office says it will work with Congress to bring U.S. law into compliance with international trade rules.

U.N. weapons inspectors find 11 empty chemical warheads in an ammunition storage area in southern Iraq. They are said to be in excellent condition, but it's unclear if they've ever actually contained chemical agents. NPR's Kate Seelye reports.

NPR's Robert Siegel takes note of some of the celebrations around the country today commemorating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In Kuwait, at least one gunman opens fire on a vehicle carrying two American civilians, killing one and wounding the other. The U.S. embassy in Kuwait condemns the attack as a terrorist act. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.

Martin Luther King, Jr. famously hoped for a day when his children would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. It's been nearly 40 years since then, and commentator Aaron Freeman hopes for even more for his daughters. He wants to raise them as if "African-American" is not their primary identity, but one of many things they are, along with athletes, Chicagoans and scholars. The problem is that it's working. They have a different outlook than he does, and he's afraid they are a different race than he is. The struggle against racism has defined much of his life, and he fears that they don't even take racism personally.

France accuses the United States of impatience in its push for war against Iraq and says it is not prepared to support any U.N. Security Council resolution that would authorize military action. Russia and China, which like France have veto power, support the French position. Hear NPR's Nick Spicer.

U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton arrives in South Korea for talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Bolton says the United States will aim to get the United Nations involved in the issue. NPR's Eric Weiner reports.

Germany and France stake out a "European position" on Iraq. French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at a summit underscore their commitment to avoiding war with Iraq. Hear NPR's Nick Spicer, and NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Karsten Voigt at the German foreign affairs ministry.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today on a Maine law that uses drug company sales to Medicaid to help pay for other medical programs.

Host Lynn Neary talks about the anti-abortion movement among college students with Molly Bowman, a junior at U.C. Berkeley and President of Berkeley Students for Life. She's also the director of the Bay Area chapter of the organization.

Public housing authorities are being hard hit by strains on state budgets. Now, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development warns local governments that less funding is in the pipeline to local housing authorities. It's unclear how much funding will be cut. NPR's Janet Babin reports.