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Phillip Davis reports that 14 year old Lionel Tate was sentenced today to life in prison without parole. Lionel was convicted in January of first degree murder in the 1999 death of a playmate, who died as Lionel imitated the violent wrestling shows he liked to watch. Broward County judge Joel Lazarus imposed the mandatory sentence after refusing to reduce the verdict to a lesser charge. He described the murder of 6 year old Tiffany Eunick as "callous and indescribably cruel." Defense attorneys said they would ask Gov. Jeb Bush to commute the sentence.

Today, according to statements from the Taliban in Afghanistan, ancient Buddhist statues carved into a mountain have been destroyed despite attempts by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to prevent it. Host Lisa Simeone talks with Humanities Professor Crispin Sartwell who says that destruction of idols has a long tradition in Western history. (5:00).

Host Lisa Simeone talks with NPR's Gerry Hadden about the end of the Zapatistas' trek to the capital to push for legislation that will guarantee the rights of indigenous people.

Host Lisa Simeone talks with KUNC station manager Neil Best about the recent sale of the public radio station in Greeley, Colorado. The University of Northern Colorado sold the station to the "friends of KUNC" after a battle for control with Colorado Public Radio, based in Denver.

Joshua Levs of member station WABE in Atlanta takes us to the Everett family barn in Suwanee, Georgia. Every Saturday night since 1964, folks from all over come to the Everett Barn to listen to bluegrass music.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports on U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan's unsuccessful appeal to leaders of Afghanistan's Islamic Taliban government to stop the destruction of two huge Buddha statues. Secretary Annan was told that the statues, which are carved from a rock cliff near the central Afghan town of Bamian , are mostly destroyed.

Host Lisa Simeone talks with the translators of a new English edition of Leo Tolstoy's classic novel, Anna Karenina (Viking Penguin/2001). Larissa Volokhonsky and Richard Pevear are a husband and wife translating team. She's Russian, he's American. They talk about the delicate art of translation.

NPR's Steve Inskeep joined a dozen U.S. senators who are working on a Habitat for Humanity project in Capitol Heights, MD.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports that jury selection begins today in Los Angeles in the federal trial of Ahmed Ressam , the Algerian man who's accused of trying to smuggle bomb making materials into the United States. He was arrested in December of 1999, while crossing from Canada into Washington State. Prosecutors will argue that Ressam was part of a conspiracy to blow up public facilities during the Year 2000 celebrations.

Scott talks to Geoffrey Rush, who has been nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as the Marquis de Sade in the film Quills.