To the Point

President Bush Goes to India

The President stopped off in Afghanistan today, saying he still thinks Osama bin Laden is going to be captured. He also played down the prospect of a nuclear agreement during his visit to India, where tens of thousands of Muslim protesters already were on the street, chanting slogans like "Killer Bush Go Back." If there is a nuclear technology deal, what's the message to Iran and other countries that want to build nuclear bombs? We talk about the President's effort to cultivate "the world's largest democracy" as a counterweight to China, with journalists and experts on South Asia and nonproliferation, including former officials of the US State Department. Making News: Senate Moves Towards Final Passage of the Patriot Act Some supporters are still concerned about invasions of civil liberties. Nevertheless, the Patriot Act appears on its way to being renewed in the Senate. James Kuhnhenn is Congressional Correspondent for the Knight Ridder Newspapers.Reporter's Notebook: Feds Want to Standardize Food Safety RegulationsEighty percent of food-safety inspections are done by state and local agencies, many of which have tougher standards than the federal government does. Congress, without any public debate, is about to pre-empt the field in the interests of national uniformity. Some states claim they'll have to substitute weaker federal rules for their own much tougher ones. Bill Lockyer, Democratic Attorney General of California, considers what that might mean.