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How do Americans spend their time on the job? Lynn Neary talks with John Robinson, a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland and co-author of Time for Life: The Surprising Ways Americans Use Their Time. The book is published by Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.

Cardinal Bernard Law's resignation as Archbishop of Boston has symbolic value, but the archdiocese remains in crisis, stained by a sex-abuse scandal and beset by financial problems. Hear from NPR's Duncan Moon, NPR's John Ydstie and Rev. Robert Bullock, chairman of the Boston Priest Forum.

President Bush nominates veteran investment banker William Donaldson to head the Securities and Exchange Commission. Donaldson's selection comes just a day after the president announced railroad executive John Snow as his choice for treasury secretary. NPR's Jack Speer and Scott Horsley report.

To talk about the U.S. options in response to North Korea's nuclear program, Robert Siegel talks with Donald Oberdorfer, a professor at Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. Oberdorfer is author of Two Koreas: A Contemporary History. The book is published by Basic Books, 1999.

Linda talks to John Ensign, a new Republican Senator from Nevada, about his hopes for his first term. Ensign was a member of Congress from 1995-1999, and this was his second try for U.S. Senate. He has pledged to oppose storing nuclear waste in Nevada, which is contrary to his party's position.

President-elect George W. Bush nominated Gale Norton, Colorado's former attorney general, as secretary of the interior today. Norton is protege of former Interior Secretary James Watt, and supports Bush's plan for expanded oil exploration in Alaska. As NPR's John Nielsen reports, her nomination came as an unwelcome surprise to many environmentalists.

Tucked away in the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum in Stevenson, Washington, is the largest collection of rosaries and prayer beads in the world; more than 4000 of them, including one that belonged to John F. Kennedy and another sixteen feet long. The collection is so big it was featured in Ripley's Believe It Or Not. Harriet Baskas has the story.

NPR's John Ydstie reports Federal Reserve policymakers cut short-term interest rates by half a percentage point today. The move was widely expected and follows another half-percentage point cut earlier this month. The Fed is aggressively cutting rates in order to prevent the economy from falling into recession.

Noah talks with John Di Iulio, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and Brookings Institution, about the new White House office created to funnel federal funds to faith-based charities.

John Burnett reports that California's energy crisis has not stopped Texas from moving full-speed ahead with utility deregulation. Officials in Texas point out that they have a surplus of electricity and that their plan differs dramatically from California's. For example, it avoids consumer price caps and does not force utilities to buy power in the volatile spot market.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on today's full Senate debate over the nomination of John Ashcroft to be Attorney General. Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the nomination on a 10-8 vote, with one Democrat joining all nine Republicans in favor of Ashcroft. Republicans, who apparently have the votes to assure confirmation, are pushing for a vote to be held on Thursday.

NPR's John Ydstie reports Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan changed course today and said that he now supports tax cuts. Greenspan told the Senate Budget Committee that new data suggest the nation can afford to undertake both debt reduction and tax cuts. Greenspan also said tax cuts would bolster the economy, especially if the recent downturn deepens into a recession.

Robert talks with novelist David Cornwell, a.k.a John Le Carre about his latest book The Constant Gardner. In the novel, a British diplomat stationed in Kenya sets out in pursuit of his wife's murderers. At the heart of the story are the pharmaceutical industry, the British government, and a new world order. (12:45) The Constant Gardener is published by Scribner.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said today that the central bank is being watchful for any signs that the economy is slowing sharply, suggesting that he may be willing to cut interest rates next year. As NPR's John Ydstie reports, stocks rallied sharply after Greenspan's speech. The Fed chairman indicated that he no longer sees higher inflation as the main threat to the economy.

NPR's John McChesney reports the online music service known as Napster may have taken a step toward legitimacy with the announcement yesterday of a partnership with media giant Bertelsmann (BMG), but the record industry's lawsuit against Napster is not going away. There are four other record companies suing the internet upstart and, so far, they do not seem willing to drop the copyright infringement suit.

The U.S. economy is slowing down from its red-hot growth of the past few years. As NPR's John Ydstie reports, most economists believe the economy is in fine shape, growing at a sustainable level without significant inflation. But some worry that there are enough trouble spots -- declining corporate profits, a cheerless stock market and uncertainty over the presidential election -- to throw the economy into recession.

One of the biggest debates emerging from the global warming treaty discussions taking place in the Hague is whether or not the terms of the 1997 Kyoto Climate Change protocol will allow the U.S. to meet most of its obligations by planting or preserving forests that suck up carbon dioxide. As NPR's John Nielsen reports, delegates from Europe and elsewhere are determined that nothing of the kind should happen.

Strikes and organizing efforts at big companies such as Amazon, Starbucks and John Deere have generated new enthusiasm about the prospects for organized labor.

Pope John Paul II's fragile health has stabilized after Tuesday night's urgent hospital treatment for breathing difficulties. The Vatican says there is no cause for alarm, but the 84-year-old pontiff will remain hospitalized for the time being.

Poet, philosopher, Heidegger scholar and former priest John O'Donohue has written several books on Celtic spirituality. O'Donohue lives in the Connemara region in the West of Ireland, a haunting landscape of stone, sea and rainbows. His latest book is Beauty.