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Media reports have highlighted a potential danger for children who carry overstuffed backpacks around, citing a rash of back injuries. One study shows a greater danger from tripping over the cumbersome carry-alls. But there's more to the story. NPR's Rachel Jones reports.

The Bush administration files a friend-of-the-court brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down the University of Michigan's affirmative action program. Three white students allege the university uses a quota system that unfairly benefits minority applicants. NPR's Libby Lewis reports.

A second high-ranking committee member quits over inaction against USOC's chief executive officer. The committee's ethics compliance officer, Patrick Rodgers, leaves saying CEO Lloyd Ward should have been sanctioned for conflict-of-interest violations. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.

South Korea is sending a special envoy to its communist northern neighbor to discuss North Korea's nuclear weapons program. And South Korea's president-elect Roh Moo-hyun is proposing a summit with the north's reclusive leader, Kim Jong Il. NPR's Eric Weiner reports.

Turkey and five Middle Eastern nations urge Iraq to do more to satisfy U.N. disarmament demands. The appeal follows a foreign ministers' meeting in Istanbul. But the six participants -- Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and Syria -- also voiced opposition to any new war in Iraq. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-hyun's proposed summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il would be the latest effort at serious talks between the bitter rivals. Sandwiched between China and Japan, Koreans on both sides of the DMZ have a long history of negotiating from a position of relative weakness. Their strategies reflect that history. NPR's Eric Weiner reports.

Health care workers in Connecticut are set to be the first U.S. civilians to receive smallpox vaccinations. It's the first step in a new federal program aimed at protecting Americans against a biological attack. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

NPR's David Molpus talks with members of the 24th Marine Expeditionary. He hears how they're preparing themselves for the possibility of war with Iraq, how spouses at home are explaining their absence to toddlers, and how one couple has made up a personal code for private e-mail messages.

The Senate passes a measure to temporarily block funding for the Pentagon's Total Information Awareness program. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and others want further review of the domestic information-gathering effort, fearing its impact on civil liberties. Wyden speaks with NPR's Bob Edwards.

He is the Tony-Award-winning choreographer of Broadway's The Lion King. He's also the founder and artistic director of the critically acclaimed Garth Fagan Dance group, and a Distinguished University Professor of the State University of New York. He's won many awards and fellowships, including a Guggenheim. His troupe is currently on tour. This interview first aired October 29, 2001.