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With the 108th Congress less than two weeks old, new lawmakers in both houses settle in and prepare for next week's State of the Union speech. NPR's Bob Edwards talks to Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AK) and John Sununu (R-NH).

The SEC takes up several proposals aimed at restoring investor confidence, approving new rules governing the relationship between accounting firms and the companies they audit. Commissioners will also vote on a rule requiring mutual fund companies to reveal how they vote on shareholder disputes. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Two military helicopters crash in South Texas while participating in a counter-drug operation along the U.S.-Mexico border, killing all four Marines reservists on board. A Marine Corps spokesman says it is possible the Super Cobra helicopters collided. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.

France and Germany underscore their commitment to avoiding war with Iraq, but the Bush administration says it will push ahead with war preparations despite European opposition. On Capitol Hill, some senators say the White House must make a more convincing case for military action. NPR's Tom Gjelten and David Welna report.

The Bush administration is raising the national terrorism alert from yellow to orange, signaling a "high risk" of terrorist attack. A government official says the move is based on an increase in intelligence that an attack may occur as Muslims mark the haj, a five-day ritual that begins Sunday. NPR News reports.

Statehouses across the nation struggle to achieve break-even budgets under the challenge of a weak economy. Many already have tapped "rainy day" funds, dismissed workers, and cut back their spending for education, health care and services to deal with shortfalls in this year's budget. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports.

The Senate debates Miguel Estrada's nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Republicans urge quick confirmation, but Democrats say Estrada's record doesn't merit a lifetime appointment and hint at a filibuster to defeat him. NPR's Libby Lewis reports.

Among 12,000 fragments of space shuttle Columbia located so far, NASA has what may be its first significant discovery: a portion of the spacecraft's wing. But NASA is cautious about what Friday's find means for efforts to reconstruct the disaster. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

Much of the debris from the space shuttle Columbia fell in and around Nacogdoches, Texas, a city of 30,000 people. City and county employees have worked around the clock to assist the investigation by marking debris. Janet Heimlich reports.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon holds secret talks with senior Palestinian officials -- the first high-level talks in nearly a year. Meanwhile, a group of Jewish and Arab-Israeli doctors collaborate to bring medical care to isolated West Bank villages. NPR's Linda Gradstein and NPR's Peter Kenyon report.