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President Bush has adopted a harder line toward North Korea than his predecessor did. At the White House today Mr. Bush raised doubts as to whether the communist North is keeping agreements it made with former President Clinton. Also at the White House, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the United States will not immediately resume the negotiations that the Clinton administration began with Pyongyang. The remarks came as Mr. Bush met with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who is seeking reconciliation with the North. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

Israel continues to pound Lebanon with bombs for a 10th day, primarily targeting Shiite areas in the south and east of the country. An Israeli general has warned that Israel could expand ground operations in southern Lebanon, where there have been fierce clashes between its troops and Hezbollah. Meanwhile, civilians in Lebanon continue to seek shelter from the fighting.

Newly announced Poet Laureate Donald Hall says he will work to improve poetry's standing the United States, seeking to provide new inspiration to the medium. Hall reads from three of his poems: "Old Roses," "Man in the Dead Machine," and "Weeds and Peonies," which is about his late wife, the poet Jane Kenyon.

Secretary of State Colin Powell says the United States will seek a new U.N. Security Council resolution that might convince more countries to contribute troops to stabilization efforts in Iraq. But Powell stresses that the United States has no plans to give up its authority over security operations, as some governments have suggested. Hear NPR's Vicky O'Hara.

Iran has charged a detained Iranian-American academic with seeking to topple the ruling Islamic establishment. Haleh Esfandiari, 67, director of the Middle East Program at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, has been held since early May.

The damaged U.S.S. Cole is heading from Yemen, as the investigation of the suspected terrorist attack on the naval vessel continues. An explosion in the Yemeni port of Aden blew a hole in the destroyer and killed 17 U.S. sailors. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports U.S. officials say the investigation has slowed in recent days and that they are seeking greater cooperation from Yemeni authorities. The situation brings to mind the aftermath of the Khobar Towers bombing four years ago, when U.S. officials complained that Saudi authorities were impeding their efforts to investigate.

NPR's Joanne Silberner reports on the latest about a common ingredient found in cold and diet medications. The Food and Drug Administration said it would seek to remove PPA from all products now on the market, due to an elevated risk of stroke among young women who take the drugs. The products affected include various cold remedies marketed under the brand names Contac, Dimetapp, Alka-Seltzer and others. The diet pill Dexatrim is also affected. The industry group representing over-the-counter drugs declined immediate comment. (2:30)View a list of the drugs with PPA.

The average American got quite a leg up yesterday -- at least according to politicians of both major political parties. When Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) declared his intention to seek the Democratic presidential nomination, he said he'd fight for regular people. And President Bush said he is thinking about all Americans in working on his economic stimulus package. Commentator Jake Tapper says that both politicians are good at seeming like regular guys - but he's not sure that a regular guy is really what voters want.

Violent conflicts that have continued through the holiday season have left many seeking solace. Rabbi and author Harold Kushner says one source that could help people of different faiths is Psalm 23, the famous "the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" psalm. Hear Kushner and NPR's Jacki Lyden.

The Georgia state house has approved a bill that would levy a 5-percent surcharge on wire transfers by illegal immigrants to their native countries. State lawmakers are seeking to stem the tide of undocumented workers and recoup the cost of providing public services to them.