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Host Bob Edwards talks to Wayne Slater of the Dallas Morning News. The Texas House of Representatives approved a bill that will strengthen penalties for hate crimes.

NPR's Nina Totenberg has the first of two reports on what to expect when the Senate begins considering President Bush's nominees to the federal bench. Many of the vacancies exist because the Republican-controlled Senate refused to confirm judges nominated by President Clinton. So there is understandable resentment among Democratic Senators, who say they'll apply the same standards and tactics used for the last few years by their Republican colleagues. The Senate Judiciary Committee today meets behind closed doors to discuss ground rules for considering Bush nominees. The meeting is expected to be acrimonious.

NPR's Howard Berkes reports on the advertising campaign that's bringing Smokey Bear into the new millennium. The public service announcements alter the bear's famous warning about "forest fire" prevention, to one concerning "wildfires," in order to emphasize that deserts and grasslands are also prone to destructive fires.

Commentator Frank Deford isn't sure members of the clergy belong in the locker room. Deford alleges that many team chaplains are using the guise of Christianity to cozy up to their favorite sports celebrities.

Book critic MAUREEN CORRIGAN reviews –Womens Tales from the New Mexico WPA— (Arte Publico Press) a collection of interviews with rural Hispanic women conducted as part of the Federal Writers Project during the Depression and published here for the first time.

NPR's David Welna reports on budget negotiations in Congress, where President Bush is trying to push through his 10-year, $1.6 trillion tax-cut plan. Lawmakers are said to be working towards a bipartisan compromise that would give Mr. Bush less than he asked for, but one that -- according to one senator -- both sides could "live with."

Noah Adams and Linda Wertheimer remember Dr. Meyer Friedman, the cardiologist who coined the concept of "Type A behavior." Dr. Friedman has died at the age of 90.

NPR's Madeleine Brand reports that while crime rates for boys are dropping, more girls are being picked up for criminal offenses.

Host Bob Edwards talks to Sen. Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the FBI. Sen. Grassley gives his assessment of Freeh's eight years as FBI Director.

Journalist MARK BOWDEN His new book is called Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the Worlds Greatest Outlaw (Atlantic Monthly Press.) Its an investigation into the US government's role in bringing down Colombian cocaine kingpin and terrorist Pablo Escobar. BOWDEN will talk about Escobar, the world of drug trafficking and US/Colombia relations. MARK BOWDEN is a reporter with the Philadelphia Inquirer. His previous book was the award winning bestseller Black Hawk Down. A film adaptation is in the works.