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NPR's Rob Gifford reports that the Chinese government today struck back at the United States, calling it hypocritical on human rights. China went on the offensive after the U.S. released a State Department report yesterday, saying that China's human rights record has greatly deteriorated over the past year. Chinese officials discussed the issue during a news conference as U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson was in Beijing. The Chinese government didn't like her remarks either, saying she was ignorant of China's situation. She is pressing China to abolish its "re-education through labor" policy, under which minor offenders can be locked up for several years, without any judicial process.

Though he says he's no big fan of auto-racing, commentator Frank Deford defends NASCAR as a sport. He says fans are not attracted to NASCAR because they want to see accidents or death, and he points out that many of the sport's northern detractors are fans of an equally dangerous sport, boxing.

Joshua Levs of member station WABE reports that today is the deadline for pilots to reach an agreement with Delta Airlines. They had been negotiating wages and benefits in their contract with the airline, but the focus now is which planes they fly. As tensions mount in the airline industry, President Bush could impose a two-month cooling-off period.

Commentator Amity Shlaes says the wealthy are still waiting for the tax cut they were promised back in 1986. Fifteen years later, Shlaes hopes the new president will make-good on a promise that previous administrations have ignored.

NPR's Larry Abramson reports that federal judges are questioning the order to break up Microsoft. An appeals panel is finding complications with the government's reasoning in the case, and questions the ethics of Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson in commenting to the media about Microsoft executives.

British novelist A.S. Byatt. Her novel Possession was a bestseller, and her novella Angels & Insects was turned into an arthouse film. Byatts new novel is The Biographers Tale (Knopf). This interview was recorded before a live audience at the Free Public Library in Philadelphia.

NPR's Don Gonyea outlines the content of President Bush's speech, which emphasized his proposal for $1.6 trillion in tax cuts over ten years. The president promised to protect Social Security and proposed more spending on defense, education, and conservation.

NPR's Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg reports on a case before the U.S. Supreme Court today that could determine how political parties may spend their money. The case involves contributions to parties for specific candidates -- and how those contributions are spent. (7:22) Check out more NPR News coverage of the Supreme Court.

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports that opposition leaders in Ukraine are claiming the country's president ordered the decapitation of a dissident journalist. They hope the controversy building around their president will lead to his resignation or removal. But to date, the opposition hasn't been able to muster enough support to pose a threat.

NPR's Phillip Martin reports on the struggle for understanding between the African-American community and the growing number of black African immigrants in Nashville, Tennessee. This story is part of NPR's ongoing series, The Changing Face of America.