To the Point

NASA Discovery Launch

Today's shuttle launch has been postponed, but two and a half years after seven astronauts died when the space Shuttle Columbia came apart on re-entry, the success of Discovery could be crucial to America's future in space. Public support for risky--and vastly expensive--missions may depend on the success that NASA is confidently predicting. But it will still be the beginning of the end of the space shuttle program. Can the US afford President Bush's plan to go back to the Moon and on to Mars? With US prestige and technological leadership on the line, can it afford not to? We hear from NASA veterans, historians, experts in space policy, and a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Making News: Secretary Chertoff Announces Homeland Security Reforms Since it was formed in the wake of September 11, the Department of Homeland Security has been criticized as unfocused and poorly coordinated. Today, the new Secretary, Michael Chertoff, announced a major restructuring. Sara Goo was briefed by Chertoff this morning along with other reporters for the Washington Post. Reporter's Notebook: WorldCom's Bernard Ebbers Gets 25 Years for Fraud The telecommunications company WorldCom collapsed in 2002, the largest bankruptcy in American history. Subsequently, Bernard Ebbers was convicted of America's biggest corporate accounting fraud, tagged at $11 billion. The former CEO wept in court today after Judge Barbara Jones said a sentence of anything less than 25 years "would not reflect the seriousness of this crime." Shawn Young has followed the case for the Wall Street Journal.