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Commentator Paul Podolsky says the dive in the stock market is a small hurdle for the savvy new breed of new economy traders.

It's been a rough month for organized labor, as Congress repealed workplace rules on repetitive stress and the Bush administration intervened to forestall threatened strikes against airlines. In the months ahead, congressional leaders are promising more hard looks at laws and regulations favored by the unions. Labor weighed in heavily during the election campaign on behalf of Democratic candidates, but union leaders still seem stunned at how far and how fast their standing in Washington has fallen. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

China is in the final stage of wrapping up its 14-year bid to join the World Trade Organization. In his annual news conference at the National People's Congress, China's Trade Minister Shi Guangsheng told reporters today that the outcome of final negotiations was a foregone conclusion, but he shied away from setting a specific date for Beijing joining the world body. NPR's Rob Gifford reports from Beijing.

Tania Garcia, a high school student in Oakland, Calif., says that standardized tests are a waste of her time. She spends lots of time studying to make sure that she really understands her subjects, and the tests only measure how many facts she knows.

Chicago Public Radio's Shirley Jahad caught up with elderly walkers who are back making the rounds of their local mall. They took on the managers who wanted to shut them out.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports on the bribery scandal embroiling the government of India. Several top politicians in the ruling political party have resigned.

Host Melissa Block visits the staff of The Onion -- the news-satire tabloid self-identified as 'America's Finest News Source.' The Onion recently moved its editorial offices to New York City, and Melissa caught up with them during one of their planning meetings.

NPR's Larry Abramson reports that Russian scientists are meticulously planning Mir's return to Earth, to prevent any harm. They're using computer models to anticipate where the 140-ton space station will splash down in the South Pacific, and warning away planes and boats from the area.

Host Melissa Block talks with Rob Turner, instructor of Baroque flute and recorder at the University of Virginia. He describes and plays a crystal flute owned by President James Madison. The flute was made in 1813 by French clock-maker turned flute-maker Claude Laurent. His design determined the way the keys are configured on most modern-day woodwinds. For more info on the flute maker, click here.

Donovan Reynolds of Michigan Radio looks at the career of actor David Oyelowo. He's been called "The Black Olivier," and is currently performing the lead in Shakespeare's Henry the Sixth for a touring production by The Royal Shakespeare Company. His casting caused quite a stir in England, where some say only whites should play Shakespeare's kings. Oyelowo sees the role as a way to break one of the last racial barriers in acting.