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NPR's Jackie Northam reports on the shuttle Columbia disaster's impact on America's contribution to the international space station.

North Korea resists pressure to halt a nuclear energy program the United States fears could be used to develop nuclear arms. The nation's ambassador to China says North Korea is defending against U.S. aggression. South Korea's president-elect may try to mediate, and China could be a key diplomatic player. Hear from Anthony Kuhn and from James Lilley, a former U.S. envoy to China and South Korea.

The average American got quite a leg up yesterday -- at least according to politicians of both major political parties. When Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) declared his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination, he said he'd fight for regular people. And President Bush said he is thinking about all Americans in working on his economic stimulus package. Commentator Jake Tapper says that both politicians are good at seeming like regular guys - but he's not sure that a regular guy is really what voters want.

Storyteller Kevin Kling says since his motorcycle accident over a year ago, he's been leading a life determined by surgeries and recovery. The most menial actions are now mammoth tasks. Kevin takes us on a journey through his day -- today and beyond.

North Korea's ambassador to China rejects any U.S. preconditions on talks. But he demanded North Korea's own precondition before it would agree to shut down its nuclear program -- a nonaggression treaty with Washington. Anthony Kuhn reports.

To talk about the diplomacy involved in resolving the North Korea conflict, Robert Siegel turns to a former ambassador to China and South Korea, James Lilley. He's now a Senior Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Ambassador Lilley says we are now at a turning point in what the U.S. role will be in Asia. While America is a major player, Lilley says South Korea's and China's roles in a diplomatic solution will be key.

Commentator Hollis Gillespie is a flight attendant now - but she's had lots of jobs and she's been fired from many of them. Once, though, she turned down an offer to be a skycap. She was embarrassed, afraid that she'd encounter past enemies or old flames at the airport on their way somewhere exciting. Now, she regrets her decision.

Robert Siegel talks with Shelley Murphy, staff reporter for the Boston Globe about a sighting in London of notorious fugitive James "Whitey" Bulger. Bulger, an FBI informant, has been on the run since 1995. He is wanted in connection with the murder of 19 people in the United States, and is on the FBI's list of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. See: http://www.fbi.gov/mostwant/topten/fugitives/bulger.htm

China is setting some lofty goals. For the first time, the nation prepares to send people into space. They'll be called Taikonauts. Robert Siegel and Lynn Neary explain.

Marin Alsop, conductor of the Colorado Symphony, gives a behind-the-scenes look at a percussion concerto called UFO, by American composer Michael Daugherty. The piece was written for the soloist Evelyn Glennie, who talks with Alsop about some of the unorthodox instruments that make up a percussionist's arsenal.