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Joel Rose of member station WHYY reports poet Amiri Baraka may see his honorary title of New Jersey's Poet Laureate eliminated by the state's legislature today, for one of his works some say is Anti-Semitic. Baraka's poem, "Somebody Blew Up America," includes reference to a conspiracy theory that Israel knew about the Sept. 11 attacks in advance.

Cartoonist Bill Mauldin, whose GI characters Willie and Joe won the hearts of countless Americans during World War II, dies at 81. Mauldin won two Pulitzer Prizes for editorial cartooning for his comic strip "Up Front with Mauldin." NPR's Bob Edwards has a remembrance.

The Securities and Exchange Commission approves new rules to assure that accounting firms maintain independence from companies they audit. The rules stem from legislation Congress passed last summer in the wake of accounting scandals at companies such as Enron and WorldCom. Critics say the new regulations aren't as strict as they should be. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today on a Maine law that uses drug company sales to Medicaid to help pay for other medical programs.

New census figures show the number of Hispanics as very close to the number of blacks in the United States. Depending on how the figures are tallied, the number of Hispanics may be seen as having surpassed the number of blacks. Host Robert Siegel talks with John R. Logan about the numbers and the implications of the changing proportion of minority groups in America. Logan is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Director of the Mumford Center, State University of New York, Albany.

Thousands demonstrate in the bitter cold in Washington -- some against abortion, others in favor of abortion rights -- on the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal in the United States. NPR's Jacki Northam reports.

Host Lynn Neary talks about the anti-abortion movement among college students with Molly Bowman, a junior at U.C. Berkeley and President of Berkeley Students for Life. She's also the director of the Bay Area chapter of the organization.

Germany and France stake out a "European position" on Iraq. French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at a summit underscore their commitment to avoiding war with Iraq. Hear NPR's Nick Spicer, and NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Karsten Voigt at the German foreign affairs ministry.

Public housing authorities are being hard hit by strains on state budgets. Now, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development warns local governments that less funding is in the pipeline to local housing authorities. It's unclear how much funding will be cut. NPR's Janet Babin reports.

In Seoul, U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton says he expects the U.N. Security Council to begin discussions on North Korea's nuclear weapons program by the end of the week. NPR's Eric Weiner reports.