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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is attending the meeting in Brussels. The U.S. and Europe are imposing new sanctions on Russia and promising to speed up deliveries of weapons to Ukraine.

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.

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.

Robert talks with Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, about NASA's decision to use the NTSB model to figure out why the Columbia broke up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

As NASA officials study data and debris from space shuttle Columbia, the initial focus is on an accident at liftoff that may have caused a chain of problems that led to catastrophe. But experts say little could have been done to rescue the ship, even if launch problems had been considered a threat to the mission. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

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.

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.

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.

The government puts the nation on heightened alert for the possibility of terrorism. The Bush administration raises the alert one notch to code orange, signaling a "high risk" of attack, based on communications chatter possibly linked to al Qaeda terrorists. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

Using Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham as a model, humorist Jay Klusky offers a child-friendly interpretation of the ongoing conflict between the Bush administration and Saddam (I am) Hussein.