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NPR's Cheryl Corley calls the "Europe Direct" hotline in Brussels and gets answers from a multi-lingual operator about what EU membership will really mean for people living in the ten new member states.

While The Washington Post's bureau chief in West Africa in 2001, Douglas Farah discovered al-Qaeda's diamond smuggling operations there. His coverage for the Post angered his hosts in West Africa and embarrassed U.S. intelligence officials. Forced to leave Africa and to defend his findings back in the United States, Farah continued his investigation. He's just published a book, Blood from Stones: The Secret Financial Network of Terror, that details his findings.

A top Vatican official says Catholic politicians who favor abortion rights for women should be denied communion, the most sacred act of faith for Catholics. The proposed Vatican policy could affect Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, a Catholic who supports abortion rights. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and John Feuerherd of The National Catholic Reporter.

The Houston suburb of Katy, Texas, is home to an exotic but little-known attraction: the country's only replica of China's Forbidden City. Known as the Forbidden Garden, the attraction opened in 1996 and features a huge burial pit representing the tomb of China's first emperor. Sarah Richards reports.

She wrote the screenplay for the new movie Mean Girls. It's based on the book, Queen Bees and Wannabes, by Rosalind Wiseman. Fey also co-stars in the film, along with Lindsay Lohan, Tim Meadows, Amy Poehler and Ana Gasteyer. Fey is co-head writer and writing supervisor for Saturday Night Live. She is the show's first female head writer. She also co-hosts SNL's Weekend Update. She and the writing staff won an Emmy Award for their work in 2002. Before SNL, Fey wrote and performed for the famed Second City in Chicago.

Scientists in Japan prove that it is possible to get a live, fertile mouse by activating an egg containing only DNA from female mice. The process of getting an unfertilized egg to start dividing is called parthenogenesis. Although many non-mammalian species reproduce this way, the Japanese mouse is the first known incidence in mammals. NPR's Joe Palca reports.

Wynton Marsalis plays the trumpet — he's not just a Grammy award winning trumpet player, but a Pulitzer award-winning trumpeter. Wynton has released his first small ensemble jazz cd in 5 years. It's called The Magic Hour. Reviewer Jim Fusilli finds delight in the record, with clever performances. He also finds some of the jazz Wynton plays sometimes backward looking.

Researchers have put a theoretical height limit on the world's tallest trees. According to an article in the science journal Nature, it's difficult for California redwoods to drag water up much higher than 426 feet. NPR's Ketzel Levine reports.

President Bush visits an estuary in Wells, Maine, to mark Earth Day, an event observed since 1970 to highlight environmental-conservation efforts. The president said his administration is tough on polluters but friendly to industry as well. Democratic challenger John Kerry took a far dimmer view of Bush's environmental record. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

Four U.S. soldiers are killed and six are wounded as insurgents fire on a base north of Baghdad. Dozens of Iraqis are killed in rocket attacks, roadside bombings and fighting with U.S.-led troops around the country. An the oil terminal off the southern city of Basra comes under attack, apparently by suicide bombers. Hear NPR's Cheryl Corley and NPR's Philip Reeves.