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The White House is holding Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) at a distance, pending a Jan. 6 vote that will decide Lott's fate as Senate Republican leader. Political analysts say the focus on Lott's racially insensitive remarks undermines President Bush's efforts to reach out to minorities. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

Though the U.S. unemployment rate has climbed abruptly to 6 percent, plenty of jobs are going unfilled. Employers can't find enough trained workers to fill medical positions and many other skilled jobs. NPR's David Molpus reports.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on Georgia Senator Zell Miller, a Democrat who has given the Bush Administration two huge gifts -- a promise to vote for the confirmation of Attorney General-designate John Ashcroft and his support for the President's 1.6-trillion-dollar tax cut. Miller was appointed to the seat last year following the death of Republican Sen. Paul Coverdell. He had a reputation for reaching across party lines, and insists this is not a precursor of switching to the GOP. But these two actions have created a buzz in Washington.

NPR' s John Ydstie reports President Bush unveiled his budget blueprint today. The $1.9 trillion budget allows overall discretionary spending to rise by 4 percent, but calls for deep cuts in some programs and the elimination of others. At a briefing this morning, budget officials reiterated the administration's position that projected surpluses leave plenty of room to both boost spending on some programs while cutting taxes by $1.6 trillion over six years.

John Pizzarelli has been playing jazz guitar with his legendary father, Bucky, since he was 6 years old. John's latest album is Dear Mr. Sinatra, on which he plays songs written for Ol' Blue Eyes. Pizzarelli appears at the Birdland jazz club in Manhattan this week.

A century ago, only 6% of the Scottish Highlands were covered in trees. Among other things, the government ordered more native tree species planted. A U.K. paper reports that now 18% is forested land.

June 6 marks the anniversary of D-Day, when Allied troops in 1944 landed on the shores of Normandy -- the largest amphibious assault in history. D-Day made the first move towards the liberation of France. At the same time, black U.S. troops were clearing a path from India to China known as the Burma Road. NPR's Juan Williams talks with Frank Bolden, a reporter embedded with the troops in Asia, about the impact of blacks in WWII and the importance of the black press.

In Baghdad, around 6,000 Iraqi army officers, unemployed since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, line up for hours to receive a $100 stipend from American forces. The payment comes as U.S. officials gear up to start recruiting for a new Iraqi national army. Hear NPR's Eric Westervelt.

The Florida Supreme Court ruled 6-1 Friday that maverick presidential candidate Ralph Nader can run as the Reform Party presidential candidate in the November election. Democrats fought to keep him off, but Republicans led the battle to keep him on. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Bill Coterell, political editor for The Tallahassee Democrat.

Host Jackie Judd talks with Karrin Allyson, a singer who's new album dedicated to the work of John Coltrane combines both her jazz and classical training. Allyson's vocal CD, based on Coltrane's instrumental Ballads record, is titled "Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane." (6:21) {Karrin Allyson, "Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane." Concord Records, 2001} {John Coltrane Quartet, Ballads MCA Records 1987}