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A brief summary of some of the other important stories on today's program.

NPR's Debbie Elliot tells NPR's Lynn Neary about opening statements in New Orleans on the latest class action suit against the tobacco industry. An estimated three million smokers, some who are not ill, want the tobacco industry to pay for health screening for tobacco-related illnesses, called medical monitoring. The tobacco industry says medical monitoring is an unproven remedy, and that they shouldn't be held responsible for smokers ignoring the warning labels and smoking anyway.

In Los Angeles, a restaurant chain with high overall health ratings is being sued by consumers for minor violations. A nail salon is being sued for the common practice of using the same nail polish bottle for multiple clients. These are just two of a long list of consumer lawsuits being filed against small businesses in California. Now the state is considering charging those doing the suing with trying to shake down the businesses. NPR's Ina Jaffe reports.

In Britain, where a gallon of diesel fuel can cost $5, some people are experimenting with what they say are cheaper, cleaner-burning fuels -- including cooking oil. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with John Nicholson, a director of the Bio-Power (UK) Network, an organization that researches alternative fuels.

At a Louisiana air force base, a hearing continues for two American military pilots who mistakenly bombed Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan last April, killing four and wounding eight others. The outcome of the hearing will determine whether the two flyers are court-martialed. Derek Stoffel reports.

Reports have been circulating that Saudi Arabia and Turkey are working to convince Saddam Hussein to step down from power voluntarily before the U.S. military forces him to do so. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says comments on the matter from high-ranking Bush administration officials suggests something might be afoot.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Sherwin B. Nuland about his new book Lost in America: A Journey with My Father. It is the story of growing up in the shadow of an immigrant father who cannot make the America dream come true. Nuland describes the relationship between him and his father and the impact that relationship had on Nuland's later years. The book is published by Knopf.

Boston drivers celebrate the opening of a major section of a 3.5-mile tunnel that connects major highways in the congested downtown, shaving time off many commutes. The "Big Dig" took a dozen years to construct at a cost of $6.5 billion. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Rich Kirkland of Metro Network Shadow Broadcasting in Boston.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell urges other nations to face up to Saddam Hussein, saying the world "must not shrink" from its responsibility to disarm the Iraqi leader's regime. Hear NPR News.

More than 100 British police raid a London mosque early Monday in connection with their investigation into the recent discovery of the deadly poison ricin. Seven are arrested in the raid, the largest of its kind in Britain since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. NPR's Guy Raz reports.

Commentator Daniel Pinkwater remembers Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, and Yukon King, Preston's trusty malamute. And he reflects on his own dog companions.

Violinist Gidon Kremer of the orchestra Kremerata Baltica talks with Robert Siegel about the orchestra's new CD, Happy Birthday. The disc features many variations on the song, "Happy Birthday."

More than 20 people are reported dead after a powerful earthquake hits Mexico City and several Pacific-coast states. The quake is estimated to have a magnitude of 7.8. NPR's Gerry Hadden reports.

Thirty years after the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, the abortion debate continues. The White House focuses on curbing abortions abroad and on giving stronger legal rights to fetuses, while Democrats blast the Bush administration on its abortion rights record. NPR's Julie Rovner and Mara Liasson report.

Iraq says it has shot down an unmanned U.S. reconnaissance plane that entered its airspace, but U.S. officials refuse to confirm the claim. Meanwhile, U.N. arms inspectors continue their search in Iraq, visiting at least four more sites. NPR's Kate Seelye reports.

Paleontologists say they've found in China the fossilized remains of a small flying dinosaur with four wings. Experts on the links between dinosaurs and birds say this could be one of the most important fossils ever found. They also say this fossil could turn out to be a fake. NPR's John Nielsen reports.

In Seoul, U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton says he expects the U.N. Security Council to begin discussions on North Korea's nuclear weapons program by the end of the week. NPR's Eric Weiner reports.

The U.N. special envoy for AIDS in Africa praises President Bush's pledge to combat global AIDS. Half of the $15 billion program would be spent on treatment, a third on prevention and the rest on care. NPR's Bob Edwards talks to Rachel Swarns of The New York Times.

In 1936, Edward, Prince of Wales, forfeited his role as King Edward VIII to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson, who was originally from Baltimore. NPR's Lynn Neary talks with Cahal Milmo, a reporter with London's Independent newspaper, about secret documents recently released to the public that reveal that Simpson was having an affair while Edward was courting her, and that she continued to have affairs with other men after her marriage to Edward.

The University of Michigan's affirmative action program draws support from unexpected groups in the face of a Supreme Court challenge supported in part by the Bush administration. Retired military officers and Fortune 500 companies urge justices to leave the race-based admissions policy alone. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.