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NPR's David Welna reports on today's action in the House of Representatives on the proposed repeal of estate taxes. The plan would reduce the top rate of 55 percent to 39 percent by 2010, and then phase it out altogether in 2011. It's a move that is expected to cost $193 billion over the next 10 years.

Pentagon top adviser and one of the chief architects of the war in Iraq, Douglas Feith, resigns. Feith, a staunch neo-conservative with close ties to Israel, is a controversial figure, especially for his role in the use of intelligence to justify the war in Iraq.

One of President Bush's top domestic priorities this year is health care. He frequently speaks about medical malpractice reform and is proposing a cap on non-economic damages. But some critics say those types of damages aren't the problem.

Top officials of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, push Congress to pass an intelligence reform bill. NPR's David Welna reports.

A new collection of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers DVDs from Warner Home Video is out, called the Astaire and Rogers Collection, Vol. 1. It includes "Top Hat" and "Swing Time."

The top of 14,000-foot Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on the big island of Hawaii, is one of the last best places to do astronomy. But astronomers now have devised a way to make "the seeing," as they call it, even better. Join NPR's Christopher Joyce for a visit to Mauna Kea.

Baghdad's nearly 5 million residents prepare for a war that seems inevitable. The streets of Baghdad are surprisingly calm, and a top aide to Saddam Hussein appears in public to refute rumors he had defected. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.

Violence plagues Sudan. India's top court deliberates on same-sex marriage.

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro talks to Sean Rameswaram, host of the weekly pop culture podcast, Sideshow, about his top picks for the best of the Internet in 2014.

Food and wine columnist Russ Parsons wrote How to Pick a Peach. He searches for top-quality fruits and vegetables and lists the reasons why supermarket produce is not always the best.

Linda Wertheimer speaks with Tim Wirth, Undersecretary for Global Affair at the State Department, about the decision to put environmental issues at the top of the department's diplomatic agenda. Wirth says that cleaning up the environment and controlling population growth around the world are prudent political and economic policies.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports on today's staff shake-up at the U.N. War Crimes Tribunal on Rwanda. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan fired two top tribunal officials following a U.N. report that the court was riddled with mismanagement and financial waste.

three-day official visit to the United States, which begins today. Mubarak meets this morning with Secretary of State Warren Christopher. At the top of the agenda: terrorism and Mideast Peace.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that the Clinton administration is under pressure to "decertify" Mexico's anti-narcotics program because of alleged links between drug traffickers and Mexico's top narcotics officials. The President must make a decision by Saturday. Congress requires yearly certification as a condition for continuing U.S. financial aid.

As Secretary of State, Retired General Colin Powell will shift from being an advocate for the military to becoming the nation's top diplomat. NPR's Tom Gjelten looks at Powell's past recommendations as one of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about military intervention in hot spots around the world.

Commentator Marion Winik has thoughts on those traditional holiday letters so many people feel they must write at this time of year, and a few suggestions. For instance, drop the "Dear Everyone" and replace it with a real headline. Instead of anecdotes, try one good paragraph. Maybe include a top ten list or a haiku.

These days we live in informal times. First names are in, and formal titles are going the way of the top hat. Commentator Elissa Ely isn't sure she likes the change.

The New York Times reports that the Bush administration has created a hit list of top al Qaeda operatives, authorizing the CIA to use lethal force. NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says this bends the longstanding executive order prohibiting assassination.

NPR's Guy Raz in Berlin reports on the growing popularity of Germany's ruling coalition of Social Democrats and Greens. Even though the Greens are the junior partner in the coalition, the party has managed to make the environment a top policy priority.

Host Bob Edwards talks with commentator John Feinstein about the Australian Open. This year the tennis tournament saw surprise winners in both the men's and women's brackets. Jennifer Capriati easily beat top-seeded Martina Hingis and Andre Aggasi defeated Frenchman Arnaud Clement.