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Noah Adams talks with Ian Fried, staff writer for CNet.com, about Mac OS X, the next generation Macintosh operating system that will go on sale March 24. Mac OS X is considered to be an advanced operating system, combining the power and openess of UNIX with the same ease of use and broad applications base upon which Macintosh has based its reputation.

As dean of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, commentator Joseph Nye is seeing a steady decline in the number of his graduates going into government. He says federal agencies are poorly equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century -- and their employeees lack the proper skills in information technology, economics and management. By contracting so much work to companies outside of government, the government has left less challenging work for its own employees. He suggests President Bush raise the salaries and the profile of public service employees.

NPR's Nina Totenberg reports on today's oral arguments before the Supreme Court in the case of a mentally retarded man facing a death sentence.

British investigators trying to track the source of the catastrophic foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the UK are focusing on the idea that it may have come into the country with smuggled meat products. Robert Siegel talks to Lester Crawford, director of the Georgetown Center for Food and Nutrition Policy, and former president of the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society.

Writer Ann McBride Norton says in China, basketball is becoming a craze. The NCAA playoffs were broadcast live in China last year. And knock-off NBA gear can be found everywhere. Courts on universities and playgrounds are filled with kids playing and parents cheering them on. It is so popular, says Norton, that the sport seems to be creeping into the most unexpected places.

Robert Siegel talks to NPR's Don Gonyea about President Bush's economic speech today in Michigan, before the Kalamazoo Chamber of Commerce. The president tried to make the case that quick action -- and especially a retroactive tax cut -- is what the sagging economy needs.

NPR's David Welna reports on the Democratic tax-cut proposal. Led by Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, Democrats are pushing for a $300 rebate to every taxpayer (and a $600 rebate to every couple), using about $60 billion from the budget surplus. They are also proposing an immediate cut in the lowest tax rate. Their proposal would be separate from President Bush's signature $1.6 trillion tax-cut plan, and Republicans fear that such a proposal would take the momentum away from Mr. Bush's program.

Noah Adams talks with NPR's Elizabeth Arnold about the resignation today of U.S. Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck. Dombeck had been instrumental in many of the Clinton administration reforms of forest policy, some of which are already being challenged by the Bush administration.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports two bomb blasts rocked Jerusalem today, killing one person and injuring dozens more. Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for the bombings.

NPR's Kate Seelye in Amman reports Arab leaders opened summit talks in the Jordanian capital today. The Palestinian issue tops the agenda, but there are fears that continued tensions between Iraq and Kuwait could mar efforts to present a united Arab stand at the summit.