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NASA's investigation into the Columbia disaster is now wide open. The space agency says there's just not enough evidence to back the theory that damage to the shuttle's protective heat tiles caused the crash. At today's memorial service for the Columbia astronauts at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., NASA chief Sean O'Keefe pledged the agency would find the cause of the accident and continue with space exploration. NPR's Richard Harris reports on the progress of the investigation.

Scientific research has always been one of the main arguments for developing NASA's manned space flight program and the International Space Station. But as the future of the program comes under scrutiny in the wake of the Columbia disaster, critics argue that most of the work doesn't require humans at all. NPR's Joe Palca reports.

John Dillon reports one in seven Vermont dairy farms are expected to go out of business within the year, victims of the lowest milk prices in 25 years. The situation in all the northeastern states is just at grim. Economists say the smaller New England farms just can't compete with bigger operations in the west.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman about his first feature film, Le Derniere Lettre, ("The Last Letter.") It's in French with English subtitles and has one actor, Catherine Samie. The film is a black and white adaptation of a short story by Soviet writer Vassily Grossman, about a letter written in 1941 by an elderly Jewish woman to her grown son, while living in a small Ukrainian village under Nazi occupation.

Today at the U.N. Security Council, Secretary of State Colin Powell presented newly declassified satellite photos, voice intercepts and intelligence from human sources, trying to make the case that Iraq is deliberately deceiving weapons inspectors rather than complying with them. For example, one set of photos purported to show four active chemical munitions bunkers with a decontamination vehicle nearby in case of accidents. Photos taken later, as U.N. weapons inspectors were arriving at the site, show that the bunkers had been sanitized and the telltale decontamination vehicle removed. Powell's remarks had little immediate effect on other council members. France and Russia, both of which have veto power, continued to argue that the inspectors should be given more time before a decision is made on whether to go to war against Iraq. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

The new CD by minimalist composer Terry Riley is a spiritual and personal journey for the composer. In Atlantis Nath, Riley uses common sounds such as street sounds, his keyboard playing and his voice to take the listener on a journey. Michelle Mercer has a review.

The remains of Columbia astronauts are flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, while investigators continue to recover and study shuttle fragments. Meanwhile, two in Texas are charged with theft of government property for looting shuttle debris. Hear NPR's Richard Harris and NPR's Larry Abramson.

A federal judge has restored high school basketball standout LeBron James' eligiblity to play for his school. The young man who is expected to turn pro right out of high school was declared ineligible by the Ohio Athletic Association because he'd accepted valuable jerseys from a Cleveland sporting goods store, a violation of the code of conduct for high school athletes. NPR's Michele Norris speaks with Vincent Duffy of member station WKSU in Kent, Oh.

Secretary of State Colin Powell provides detailed evidence against Saddam Hussein to the U.N. Security Council and lists ways America says Iraq is continuing to develop weapons and help terrorists. Iraq's U.N. ambassador responds. Hear reports from NPR's Vicky O'Hara and NPR's Michele Kelemen.

This week, New Jersey physicians are staying off the job to protest rising malpractice prices. In doing so, they join the ranks of doctors in several states who've taken similar action. President Bush and Congress are seriously considering putting caps on jury awards to try to bring expenses down. That is a very controversial idea. In this report Patricia Neighmond talks to experts about why expenses are rising.

Commentator Stephen Kuusisto recalls a night in his childhood when he and some friends broke into an abandoned farmhouse in western New York state. The evening is tinged with anxiety about going to fight in the Vietnam War, since the boys all are teenagers.

Since the end of the Cold War, civilian contractors become vital to the military as armed forces shrink by more than a third. If America goes to war against Iraq, not everyone in battle will be in uniform -- and many civilians will be close to the frontlines. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

NPR's Richard Gonzales reports that several of the jurors who convicted a California man on marijuana charges last week took the unusual step this week of issuing a public apology. Grower Ed Rosenthal was convicted under federal law, which does not allow marijuana to be cultivated for any reason. During the trial, jurors were not told that Rosenthal was growing marijuana for medicinal purposes, which is allowed in California and eight other states. When they found out afterward, they called for a new trial.

At the Security Council today, Iraq's U.N. ambassador dismissed the evidence presented by Colin Powell. Mohammed Aldouri said the Secretary of State could have "spared the council the time." Programs to develop weapons of mass destruction are "huge" Aldouri said, and not "easily hidden." He accused the United States of fabricating evidence. Meanwhile, in Baghdad, Gen. Amir al-Saadi told a news conference, "What we heard today was for the general public and mainly the uninformed in order to influence their opinion and to commit aggression on Iraq." NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

NASA engineers are pursuing competing theories about what may have caused the catastrophic breakup of the space shuttle Columbia. NPR's Larry Abramson reports on how forensic investigators keep a constantly open mind until the evidence for one theory becomes so strong that it leaves no room for doubt.

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with Stefan Fatsis, sportswriter for The Wall Street Journal about this weekend's National Basketball Association All-Star game in Atlanta. The game will feature Michael Jordan in, presumably, his final all-star appearance. A big topic of discussion among players is a petition by two 17-year-old Europeans to gain early entry into the league.

A nightclub bombing in Bogota, Colombia, leaves at least 20 people dead. The club is part of a luxurious complex frequented by the city's wealthier and more glamorous personalities. NPR's Martin Kaste reports.

NPR's Richard Gonzales reports that last night more than 2,600 hopeful homebuyers in Marin County, Calif., participated in a lottery for 351 affordable homes on an abandoned Army air field at Novato. Novato officials said they worked with developers for years to find a way to offer below-market homes that local firefighters, police and teachers could afford. The median home price in Marin County is $554,000.

Historians and other scholars are examining the state of black studies. Some 400 black studies programs and departments exist, but there have been few conferences such as the one in New York this weekend, and some say there's an identity crisis. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in Europe to rally support for regime-change in Iraq, says he doesn't know how long a war in Iraq would last, but doubts it would take six months. Meanwhile, Arab leaders have tried to avert conflict in Iraq, but many now say hope for a peaceful solution is fading fast. Hear reports from NPR's Tom Gjelten and NPR's Kate Seelye.