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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.

The United States "burned" some intelligence sources when Secretary Powell told the U.N. Security Council yesterday what those had revealed. But American intelligence agencies believe the sources were not of great importance and contend that the loss of sources was outweighed by the need to convince the world that Iraq still conceals illegal weapons programs. NPR's Mike Shuster reports.

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.

In the 1980s and 1990s, asthma rates in U.S. kids reached epidemic proportions. Though studies indicate the rates are leveling off, rates for African American and Hispanic children and inner-city populations aren't declining. New research suggests poverty, stress and poor mental health may be fueling the problem. Madge Kaplan of member station WGBH reports.

NATO votes to block planning efforts for a potential war in Iraq. Members say all diplomatic means should be exhausted first. Elsewhere in Europe, anti-war sentiments grow. Hear NPR's Guy Raz, NPR's Michele Norris, Dominique Moisi of the French Institute of International Relations, and Constance Stelzenmueller, foreign policy editor of Die Ziet.

Dan Keplinger was born with severe cerebral palsy. But at 30, he's already a successful artist, the subject of an Oscar-winning film, and he's finishing his second college degree. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports on the Baltimore, Md., artist's inspirational story. View a video clip from the documentary, and view examples of his art.

Secretary of State Colin Powell prepares to share U.S. intelligence with the U.N. Security Council, in hopes of persuading members that Iraq is in defiance of U.N. weapons resolutions. Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Tony Blair urges European nations to support the U.S. position. NPR's Vicky O'Hara and NPR's Guy Raz report.

Thousands of mourners honor the space shuttle Columbia crew at a memorial service at Johnson Space Center in Houston. President Bush consoles survivors and NASA workers. NPR's John Burnett reports.

The author of Godshot brings readers a new set of stories; Heartbroke unfolds in a chorus of yearning and sorrow, told in 11 different voices that Chelsea Bieker inhabits with perfect pitch.

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.