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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.

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 Liane Hansen speaks with saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, son of musician Alice Coltrane and the sax legend John Coltrane. Though John Coltrane died before Ravi was two years old, ultimately Ravi followed in his father's footsteps and has become a respected bandleader. Ravi Coltrane's new cd, Mad 6, is on Eighty-Eights/Columbia Records, and his website is http://www.ravicoltrane.com.

The University of Vermont Medical Center has reached a new contract agreement with the union representing technical professional employees.

President Bush proposes adding up to 6,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border to curb illegal immigration, as well as creating a temporary or "guest" worker program. The president delivered a speech on immigration in a live address Monday.

President Bush tells the nation in televised Oval Office speech on illegal immigration that "America can be a lawful society, and a welcoming society." The president plans to send 6,000 troops to help tighten the U.S.-Mexico border. But he also called again for a guest-worker program.