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The Winter Olympics in Italy are just three weeks away. Usually these major international sports events unleash a wave of national euphoria. But in sports-crazy Italy, the winter games are being largely ignored.

Nobody won a big race across the desert in Nevada. To be more precise, a robot won that race. A Volkswagen controlled by computer, with nobody behind the wheel, finished first in a course across the desert. The Pentagon sponsored the 132-mile race to encourage new technology. The winning robot is called Stanley. And the Pentagon pays a $2 million prize to the people who created him -- or rather "it."

Sunday marks the 75th anniversary of the birth of Sam Cooke, one of the most famous gospel and pop singers in American music history. Along with Ray Charles, Cooke was one of the earliest artists to cross over from gospel to pop music. By the end of his career, he heralded the advent of soul.

Steve Inskeep talks to Stephen Cohen, senior fellow of foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution, about the political impact of the massive earthquake that shook Pakistan over the weekend.

The captors of American journalist Jill Carroll, who was kidnapped in Iraq almost two weeks ago, say they will kill her Friday unless all Iraqi women prisoners are freed. Simultaneous suicide and roadside bombings on the same Baghdad street Thursday have killed at least 22 Iraqis.

The Pentagon is defending its use of a toxic agent called white phosphorus to smoke out and capture insurgents in last year's battle for Fallujah. If ignited particles of the chemical land on a human, they can burn through flesh and bone. John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org discusses the controversy.

Satirist David Sedaris first won national recognition for his talent after reading from his "Santaland Diaries" on NPR in 1992. Sedaris is now a best-selling author of satirical and witty books.

Victor Hanson has grounded his life in the study of the classics and in the land his family has farmed for six generations. By following in the footsteps of his ancestors, he believes he is never alone.

Southwestern New Mexico is littered with rock art and artifacts from long-gone ancient cultures. Doug Fine goes on a trek through the desert back country with a local man who sleuths out hidden "rock art" sites.

Seth Borenstein, national correspondent for Knight Ridder, talks about a report he co-wrote on the reduction of fines for mine safety violations imposed by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration since President Bush took office.