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NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that stocks were down sharply on Wall Street today. The NASDAQ composite fell below 2000 for the first time in more than two years. The technology heavy index is down more than 60 percent from its high of a year ago. The blue chips that make up the Dow Industrial Index were also under heavy selling pressure.

From member station KCUR, Frank Morris reports on calls from some Missouri lawmakers for state intervention in the long-troubled Kansas City school district.

Noah Adams talks with David Smith, assistant principal of Whitwell Middle School in Whitwell, Tenn., about the school's paper clip project. He says that, after the Columbine High School shooting, the principal wanted to find a program to teach students about tolerance. The idea: teach the kids about the Holocaust, in a hands on, interactive way. Smith came up with the idea of collecting 6 million paper clips, to represent the 6 million Jews who died during the Holocaust. He explains who he got the idea, and how the collection involves student research and communication with people from around the world. More info available at: www.marionschools.org/holocaust.

AIDS activists protest in Washington, D.C., today. South African Ambassador Sheila Sisulu joins representatives from ACT UP, Oxfam, and Doctors Without Borders at a rally "to demand an end to 'medical apartheid'". The rally included a march to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association.

Noah Adams talks with Donna Thomasses, founder of Million Moms March about some of the changes the Million Mom March Organization has made. A year ago, the organization had thousands of members, but, this year, the organization has laid off 30 employees due to lack of funds. Thomasses says there are still chapters nationwide with volunteers doing the work, and now the national organization is looking for new ways to fulfill its mission.

In Chinese cities, the divorce rate has tripled since 1980 as the Communist Party has allowed more personal freedom. It is common for men to have extramarital affairs. Men who leave their wives often provide little or no support. China's old divorce law is largely silent on the subject of alimony because private property did not exist when the law was written. Now China is revising the law. Because there is more public debate on these matters, women are helping to shape the new law, wrestling with questions like "should adulterers be imprisoned?" NPR's Rob Gifford reports.

The use of biometrics -- identifying people on the basis of physical characteristics -- was once used mainly for law enforcement purposes. Now, it is becoming more common to identify everyday Americans. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports on a Pennsylvania school district that uses fingerprint technology to identify schoolchildren in the lunchroom.

NPR's David Welna reports that many in Washington are voicing their opinion of the Bush tax-cut plan. The proposal is expected to come before the Senate in May.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that Japan's Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori met today with other leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party. After saying this weekend that he would step down as prime minister, he now says he did NOT offer to resign. His party is reportedly exasperated with Mori, whose approval rating has dropped into single digit range. Mori will likely be a lame duck by the time he meets President Bush on March 19th at the White House.

NPR's Susan Stamberg talks with two teenage girls about the meaning of loyalty. They say loyalty over boys, school, drugs, or their health, is something they are sorting out on a case-by-case basis.