Space Station or Tin Can?

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Years behind schedule, at triple its original budget, an American and two Russians have lifted off from Kazakhstan to become the first inhabitants of the International Space Station. Though the study of human behavior in space is a long-term project, even supporters concede the station is a very expensive hotel. But it's also a jobs program, a way to improve relations with Russia and maybe even, to stop North Korea from building missiles. Specialists from NASA, JPL, the Johnson Space Center, a military historian and deputy director of the Russian Academy of Science consider the value of the project and its implications for civilian space travel.
  • Newsmaker: Napster, the company that allows fans to swap music over the Internet for free, has stunned the recording industry again by making a deal with Bertelsmann, the conglomerate that owns BMG, one of the record companies that sued Napster for big money. Howard King, the attorney representing Metallica and Dr. Dre in their independent suits against Napster, considers the deal's affect on record labels, musicians, fans and piracy.
  • Reporter's Notebook: The national press corps is supposed to lean left, but a recent study shows that political news, even on the Internet, was overwhelmingly negative. Oddly, Gore got far more negative coverage than Bush. Amy Mitchell is the Associate Director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism. She explains why this is and speculates on what the study's results mean for educating the electorates of the future?

NASA

International Space Station

Track the International Space Station

Project for Excellence in Journalism

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Warren Olney