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Critics have expressed growing concern over NASA's extensive use of outside contractors in its shuttle program. NPR's Howard Berkes talks to host Michele Norris about the program, and about whether the use of contractors may be considered a possible factor in Columbia's failure.

President Bush's budget proposal calls for significant changes to Medicare and Medicaid.

Remains have been found from all seven astronauts killed when the space shuttle Columbia broke apart upon re-entry Saturday, NASA officials say. Meanwhile, investigators examine debris scattered over eastern Texas and Louisiana. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep, NPR's Richard Harris and NPR's Wade Goodwyn.

NASA engineers and safety experts have continuously modified and upgraded the shuttle fleet over the years. The fleet has known weaknesses, and investigators will be looking very closely at these as they try to figure out what happened to Columbia as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere Feb. 1. NPR's Chris Joyce reports.

NPR's Wade Goodwyn has more on the trail of debris from the Columbia, which is scattered over an area of eastern Texas and Louisiana for several hundred square miles.

In a five-part series for Morning Edition, NPR's Eric Weiner and Michael Sullivan examine the spread of terrorism in Southeast Asia. In Part One, Weiner reports from the Philippines -- a Roman Catholic country that seems an unlikely place for an al Qaeda cell, but where investigators believe the militant Islamist group gained its first foothold in the region.

The Bush administration proposes two new types of savings accounts with higher contribution limits than current IRAs. The White House says the plan will help Americans save more, but critics say the plan is just a tax shelter for the rich. NPR's Elaine Korry reports.

David Bosselait's usual order is a coffee for himself, and a doughnut hole for his horse named Jackson. During the weekly trip, Jackson gets a lot of attention.

At the Johnson Space Center in Houston, President Bush joins thousands of mourners for a memorial service honoring the seven astronauts who died when the space shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry Feb. 1. NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports.

Host Robert Siegel talks with NPR's Richard Harris about today's news conferences on the space shuttle Columbia recovery and investigation.