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More than 20 people are reported dead after a powerful earthquake hits Mexico City and several Pacific-coast states. The quake is estimated to have a magnitude of 7.8. NPR's Gerry Hadden reports.

Economic growth comes to a near standstill in the fourth quarter of 2002, as the gross domestic product rose by an annual rate of just 0.7 percent. Concerns over a possible war in Iraq and rising oil prices prompt many businesses to hold off on new spending. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.

Richard Reid, the al Qaeda follower who tried to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes, is sentenced to life in prison. Reid gets the maximum sentence after declaring himself a soldier of war. NPR's Tovia Smith reports.

The investigation into the space shuttle Columbia disaster starts with a focus on a piece of foam insulation that fell off the shuttle's fuel tank and hit its left wing during launch. Columbia broke apart upon re-entry Saturday, killing all seven astronauts aboard. NPR's Joe Palca reports on the first stages of the probe.

President Bush sends Congress a 2004 budget totaling $2.23 trillion, with the largest increases going to defense and homeland security. The budget assumes a new round of tax cuts, but doesn't account for a possible Iraq war. The proposal also includes the largest deficit in America's history -- more than $300 billion. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

Initial clues in the investigation of the break-up of the space shuttle Columbia suggest there may have been a problem with the tiles that protect the spacecraft against the heat of re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Meanwhile, searchers are scouring a wide area of East Texas and Louisiana for shuttle wreckage. NPR's Richard Harris and Wade Goodwyn report.

The case of the family found dead on a hiking trail in August had perplexed investigators and the public. On Thursday, Sheriff-Coroner Jeremy Briese confirmed the cause of death.

Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the U.N. nuclear agency, and chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix arrive in Baghdad for talks with Iraqi officials. They are expected to warn Iraq that it must cooperate more intensely with arms inspectors. Hear NPR's Kate Seelye and Walter Russell Mead of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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 Food and Drug Administration suspends more than two dozen gene-therapy studies after a second child in a French genetic experiment is diagnosed with leukemia. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and Richard Knox.