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NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that more than a week after losing an important court case, the tobacco industry is still feeling the pressure of mounting legal problems. Industry watchers say the industry could take a real and lasting hit if it loses a case currently underway in Indiana. Despite all the troubles, some investors are looking at major tobacco stocks as a good buy.

Reporter Karen Michel profiles this sculptor who uses ordinary hobbyist's clay. There is a retrospective of his work traveling now--Lucero says he likes to create art "that stares back at you." His work is creative, the early work reveals the inspiration of his New Mexico upbringing...he spends his time developing ideas and buys over the counter glazes.

Noah talks to Jodie Scott of Shoreline, Washington, just outside of Seattle. She went to buy a pump to pump out her flooded first floor, and when she got back, she parked her car around the corner from her house. The next day the car ended up at the bottom of a 60 foot deep, 150 foot wide sinkhole.

NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports that Turkey has signed a 20-billion-dollar deal to buy natural gas from Iran. Turkey's decision to do business with Iran could result in U.S. sanctions. The agreement comes less a week after President Clinton signed a law authorizing U.S. sanctions against foreign companies choosing to invest in Iran and Libya.

Commentator Marion Winik is desperate for a plain bagel-- as a symptom of the national "bagel craze", she has discovered that every time she tries to buy a bagel, it is accompanied by some logo and fancy marketing technique. She says she doesn't want a bagel theme park-- she just wants a bagel and maybe a cup of coffee.

In Detroit unions announced today they're ending a boycott of the city's two daily newspapers. For 5 years strikers have refused to buy the papers or support their advertisers. The labor dispute has been bitter and costly for both sides. Despite dropping their boycott unions are still claiming victory because the newspapers failed to break them, as WDET's Quinn Klinefelter reports from Detroit.

Tanya Ott reports from Orlando that new visa restrictions are discouraging foreigners from buying vacation homes in the United States at the rate they have been. In southern states, these foreign homebuyers are no longer a multimillion dollar slice of the real estate market since the war on terrorism is limiting their visa stays to one month.

The jackpot for Wednesday's Powerball Lottery is worth at least $280 million. The game is played in 23 states and the District of Columbia, and some people are driving for hours to reach spots where they can buy tickets. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Health officials in Maine plan emergency meetings Thursday in response to a Tuesday court decision that could shut down a program that helps lower-income people buy prescription drugs. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.

Helen Ciurczek of member station KQED reports from Sacramento that the California legislature met late into the night and passed a 400 million dollar stop-gap plan. The money will allow the state to buy electricity on the open market and provide it to utilities at reduced cost. Governor Gray Davis is expected to sign the bill today.