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The Congressional Budget Office forecasts a deficit of $368 billion for the current fiscal year, a $20 billion jump from its prediction last fall. The numbers do not include the additional $80 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that the Bush administration has said it will seek from Congress.

NPR's Michele Norris talks with Craig Smith, reporter for the New York Times, in Umm Qasr in southern Iraq. Smith spoke with a Shiite cleric who told him that Ba'ath Party officials in Basra are seeking a way to surrender. The cleric says that the party officials have no support among Iraqi people there and are worried about mob violence against them if they step down.

Just hours after John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln, the actor showed up at the doorstep of Dr. Samuel Mudd, seeking help for his broken leg. Soon after, Dr. Mudd was sentenced to life in jail. To this day, his family is fighting to clear Mudds name. Cindy Johnston reports.

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean campaigns in Wisconsin as he seeks to regain momentum for his Democratic presidential bid. Dean once called Wisconsin a make or break state; he now says his supporters don't want the campaign to stop. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Dean.

More than 200,000 Iraqi men have signed up for the nation's new security force despite the deaths of at least 300 police in the wake of the U.S.-led effort to oust Saddam Hussein. And for the first time, Iraqi women are seeking police jobs. NPR's Deborah Amos reports.

On the eve of the annual Grammy presentations, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences seeks to recover from the departure of a scandal-plagued president. And the music industry confronts a steep decline in CD sales. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and Eric Boehlert of Salon.com.

Mel Gibson's film The Passion of The Christ -- which seeks to portray the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life -- has prompted awkward Vatican denials that Pope John Paul II warmly endorsed the movie after a private viewing. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports.

Preservationists are battling to save historic theater buildings -- and their classic movie fare. Many sites have been bought by huge cinema chains seeking to prevent competition. One fight is taking place in Bloomington, Ind. Will Murphy of member station WFIU reports.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates hold a day of talks with Arab officials in Egypt and Saudi Arabia to seek support on Iraq and try to revive the Mideast peace process.

Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Diplomatic Correspondent Ted Clark about today's White House meeting between President Clinton and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Arafat is seeking clarifications about the latest U.S. peace proposals. One of the Palestinian leader's advisors says today's meeting could be decisive for the future of the peace process.