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Smallpox vaccinations begin today for medical workers in several states and Los Angeles County. The government's goal is the inoculation of 450,000 health workers against a bioterrorism attack with smallpox. But some are resisting vaccination out of safety and legal liability fears. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

External efforts to end a nearly two-month-old strike in Venezuela gain momentum. Former President Jimmy Carter's plan to address the crisis is embraced by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. The strike has crippled oil production in one of the world's major exporters. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

Tom Ridge is sworn in as the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Ridge begins his job amid complaints that homeland security remains underfunded, and that the government has done too little to secure the nation since Sept. 11. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

Control of the Senate Judiciary Committee officially switches from Democrats to Republicans, with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) taking over as chairman. Hatch says the panel will move quickly to consider President Bush's judicial nominees, including controversial candidates recently renominated by the president. NPR's David Welna reports.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell implores the international community to meet its responsibility to disarm Iraq, saying the burden is on Saddam Hussein to avoid war by accounting for "missing" biological and chemical agents. And he says at least a dozen nations would support a U.S.-led attack on Iraq. A report from U.N. arms inspectors is due Monday. NPR News reports.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell says talks with North Korea might occur "at an appropriate time." Observers note that the latest remarks, made Saturday, did not mention preconditions the Bush administration has been insisting upon. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Rob Gifford.

The FBI is looking into a computer virus that struck the Internet overnight, interfering with Web browsing and e-mail delivery. Experts say the virus exploits a bug in the Microsoft system that was identified six months ago, and repaired with a software "patch." NPR News reports.

Thousands of protesters attack the French embassy in Ivory Coast after African leaders, meeting in Paris, seal an agreement to end a four-month civil war in the West African nation. The protesters say the peace deal gives too much power to Ivory Coast rebels. NPR's Nick Spicer reports.

A Spanish judge orders 16 al Qaeda suspects arrested on Friday to remain in the government's custody. Police say they found chemicals, detonators and other electronic bomb components in searches of their homes. Jerome Socolovsky reports.

The U.S. military apologizes for the crash of a U.S. reconnaissance plane in South Korea, which injured three people and sparked a fire that damaged a house and business. The pilot ejected safely, officials say. NPR's Rob Gifford reports.