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As the AFL-CIO finishes its winter meeting today in Los Angeles, union leaders see the economic downturn as an opportunity to make inroads into part of the economy where their recruiting goals have fallen well short. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports from Los Angeles.

Women in Baharain voted for the first time this week in a two-day referendum on political reforms. It's the first referendum in that Persian Gulf country since it gained independence from Great Britain in 1971. Linda Werthheimer talks with Howard Schneider, Cairo bureau chief for the Washington Post about politics in Bahrain and conclusion of the vote.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports the wireless Web is a sensation in Japan, where more people use their mobile phones to access the Internet than use personal computers. Like the 1980s Walkman craze, portable Web surfing devices caught on first with young people.

Commentator Sherry Sontag, an investigative journalist and author, argues that if everything had been done by the rules, the submarine would never have hit the Japanese trawler. By holding back the answers to key questions while it investigates, the Navy compounds the impression of incompetence by appearing evasive.

There's new momentum in the struggle to get AIDS drugs to the developing world. Drug companies are offering discounts on AIDS drugs to poor countries. Foreign generic drug makers are copying U.S.-patented AIDS drugs and selling them in the Third World. And studies are showing that even in the poor countries like Haiti, the triple-drug combination of AIDS drugs can slow disease and death.

Noah talks with Milwaukee County Supervisor Jim McGuigan about the controversy over Dennis Oppenheimer's sculpture of a giant blue shirt. The 35-foot-tall shirt is planned to decorate a parking structure at the Milwaukee Airport. Some people in town are worried that the sculpture will reinforce the city's blue collar image. The artist says that's not what he had in mind.

Melinda talks to Malcolm Kushner, co-creator of a humor exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, about various Presidents and their sense of humor. He says it's important for the Commander-in-Chief to know how to tell a joke, and make fun of himself on occasion.

A deep sea robot has found the Japanese fishing boat that was ripped apart by a US submarine last week. This week, the navy revealed that civilians were at the helm of the USS Greenville at the time of the accident. Host Lisa Simeone speaks with editor Paul Beaver of Jane's Defense Weekly about the practice of allowing civilians to observe manuevers on a military sub.

As lawmakers return home for a week-long recess, they'll be gauging their constituents' opinions on President Bush's tax cut plan. NPR's David Welna reports on the tax cut debate.

Lisa talks with 72-year old Betty Weeks of Arlington, Virginia. Weeks retired as a crossing guard last week after 38 years patrolling the same intersection. She says the kids and drivers have changed over the years. Plus, we'll hear a poem she wrote about her job.