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With the resignation of CIA Director George Tenet, the role of intelligence in U.S. policy has come to prominence again, as the CIA and other agencies seek to defuse terrorist cells and foil attempts to spread nuclear materials. NPR's Liane Hansen speaks with Amy Zegart , UCLA professor and author of Flawed by Design: The Evolution of the CIA, JCS, and NSC, about the prospects for the Central Intelligence Agency in the post-Tenet era.

The Supreme Court dismisses on a technicality a lawsuit seeking to drop the phrase "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, sidestepping the issue of whether the phrase violates the separation of church and state. The ruling relieved both conservatives and civil liberties groups. Both sides of the debate feared that a win would have triggered a divisive fight to amend the Constitution. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

Earlier this week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruled that an employer's failure to provide insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives, when it covers other prescription drugs and devices, constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although the ruling applies to the specific case, which was brought by two nurses, health advocates are seeking to make the ruling much broader. NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

Federal agents search P-Tech, a data management firm in Quincy, Mass., seeking evidence of ties to terrorist organizations. P-Tech is a computer contractor for the U.S. military and various U.S. agencies with inside access to valuable data. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Glenn Simpson.

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) seeks to hang on to his post as Republican leader in a Senate newly controlled by the GOP. A torrent of criticism has greeted recent remarks by Lott that appeared to endorse America's segregated past. He apologized again Friday, but resisted calls to resign his leadership post. NPR's David Welna reports.

Former Vice President Al Gore announces he won't seek the White House in 2004. That leaves the race for the Democratic nomination for president wide open, and the focus shifts to other Democrats considering a presidential campaign. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

Cardinal Bernard Law delivers a public apology in his first major appearance since his resignation as the head of the Boston Archdiocese. He seeks forgiveness from victims who suffered over his failure to crack down on priests who molested children. Hear NPR's Tovia Smith.

The power struggle in Yugoslavia intensified today, just four days after the inauguration of the new president, Vojislav Kostunica. NPR's Anne Garrels tells host Linda Wertheimer that allies of ousted president Slobodan Milosevic said they would not relinquish control over the Serbian republic government, as Kostunica is demanding. The new president is seeking early elections for a new republic government. If Milosevic's Socialists and their allies do not agree to elections in three days, the Kostunica camp says it will call for street protests.

NPR's Patricia Neighmond reports on a practice known as "evergreening" by drug companies that many blame for the high prices of some prescriptions. Companies seek to find ways to extend the patents on their brand name medications - sometimes by tiny changes in a pill's dose or its formulation. An extension of a patent delays the introduction of cheaper generic versions of a drug, permitting brand-name makers to reap many extra billions in profits. Drug companies defend the practice, saying they must recoup the high costs of developing new drugs.

Stating he is a "different kind of Democrat," Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) becomes the latest lawmaker to announce his plans to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2004. He says he won't hesitate to tell his friends when they're wrong, and to agree with opponents when they're right. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.