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that authorities have arrested suspects in connection with recent fires at two black churches. They say one of the fires appears to have been racially motivated, while the other was not.

Today in Phoenix, Arizona in a community college gymnasium, 4-hundred 50 people are gathering to be sworn in as American citizens. Robert talks with Sadir (SAH-deer) Hamati (HA-ma-tee), a native of Jordan, about what it means for him to become an American citizen. Mr. Hamati came to the United States 10 years ago and now lives in Phoenix.

Charlie Mayer reports on the 1996 Student Auto Skills National Quality Care Challenge. The Quality Care Challenge was held this past Monday on The Mall in Washington. D.C. Josh Garrison and Josh Lamb of Paris, Texas won the competition, beating forty-nine other teams from the United States and one exhibition team from Canada. The Quality Care Challenge is an annual event in which the best high school automotive technicians in the country race against the clock to repair identically "bugged" automobiles. (3:30) ((ST

- Daniel speaks with Dr.Donald Murphy, who is director of a group in Colorado that is drafting guidelines for medical care. Dr.Murphy says the cost of many medical procedures make them impractical in certain situations. His group is particularly concerned about the over-use of expensive procedures in cases where the patient has very little chance of survival. Despite the controversy surrounding his work, Dr.Murphy argues that American society must face economic realities and practice medicine accordingly.

The House voted today to increase the minimum wage by ninety cents. The vote was a victory for Democrats who gained the support of moderate Republicans for the proposal. The same coalition voted down a Republican amendment that would have exempted businesses earning more than half a million dollars a year -- and would have included most of the fast food restaurants and retail stores that pay the minimum wage. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

Linda and Noah read from listeners' letters. To send letters please write to LETTERS-ATC, 635 Masschusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001, or by E-Mail to ATC@NPR.ORG.

Burma about the recent military crack down on the pro-democracy movement there.

of how it acquiesced to the Croatian government's plans to smuggle Iranian arms to Bosnia two years ago. Appearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott said the Administration took the best available option in its response to Croatia, and that it in no way constituted a covert action.

Commentator Donna D'Amico Mayer (duh-MEE-koh MAY-ur) tells the story of her father, whom she describes as a cross between Lenny Bruce and Archie Bunker-- a man who was anything but politically correct. He was orphaned as a young child, but somehow managed to be an incredible father.

Susan talks to Harry Goode, a cattle farmer in England who is using his cows to sell ad space to a variety of companies. Goode came up with this gimmick after the ban on British beef was implemented due to fears that some of the cattle may have mad cow disease. Eight of Goode's cows have had billboard like ads placed on their backs which passersby can see from the interstate that runs close to Goode's pastures. He charges advertisers 100 pounds per day and even America's Ben and Jerry's ice cream has bought an ad.

NPR's Anne Garrels reports from the presidential campaign trail in Russia. Polls indicate Russian President Yeltsin is ahead, but no one trusts those polls, least of all the Yeltsin campaign.

Linda talks with the author, A. S. Byatt, about her latest book, "Babel Tower" (BAY-bl). This is the third novel in an ongoing series, and Byatt says she had intended to write a novel about family life and group behavior, but the novel also became a portrait of swinging London in the 1960s. There are myriad literary and popular culture references, and there are other narratives and fictional works embedded in the novel -- including another novel called Babble Tower, trial transcripts, poems and fairy tales.

Who decides what's conservative and what's not? Commentator Mickey Edwards says this year it's the real conservatives who will make the decisions for the party .... instead of those intolerant self-proclaimed conservatives who've been speaking for the rest of the party.

An immigration appeals panel has granted asylum to a woman who fears she will be subject to genital mutilation if she returns to her home in Togo. The 19-year-old woman fled the West African country in 1994 and was detained in jails in the U-S until last month. An immigration judge had rejected her asylum claim in August, 1995, saying female genital mutilation would not count as persecution against her because it was done to her peers. NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports.

- Andrea De Leon (Ahn-DRAY-uh DAY-LAY-OWN) reports on the Senate Primary campaign in Maine, which was held this week. Republicans in the state cast ballots for Susan Collins, John Hathaway, and Bob Monks - who were fighting for the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Senator William Cohen. Many people in Maine considered the campaign to be one of the nastiest in the state's history. A week before the primary, two newspapers reported that candidate Hathaway had been investigated for allegedly having sex with an underage girl. Hathaway accused candidate Bob Monk of leaking the story to the press. Candidate Susan Collins - who stayed out of the dispute - won the primary with more than 50-percent of the vote.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports that President Clinton's proposal today of a fifteen-hundred dollar tax credit for students who attend two years of college. There's an argument among politicans and others over whether a tax cut should be targeted to a narrow group of taxpayers, like this one proposed by Clinton, or be aimed at a more general group of people, affecting a much wider population.

Linda talks with Tom Boatner (BOHT-nur), a firejumper from the Bureau of Land Management based in Fairbanks, Alaska. Right now he's in Houston (HYOO-stun), Alaska. As many as 100 homes and an estimated 7,000 acres have burned in this fire which is believed to have started on Sunday. More than 300 firefighters, supported by firefighting aircraft, are now working to contain the blaze which is being fueled by forty mile-per-hour winds.

NPR's Don Gonyea reports that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration has gone to court to force Chrysler to recall 91,000 cars. Federal officials say that rear seat belts in the cars are unsafe, but Chrysler has resisted the recall, saying there's no problem. This is the first time an automaker has resisted federal requests for a voluntary recall.

The government's worst-kept secret is being released today. The Medicare Plan A trust fund -- which is used to pay hospital and home health bills for more than thirty-seven million elederly and disabled people -- will go broke in 2001 instead of 2002, unless something is done to fix it. NPR's Joanne Silberner looks at the Medicare Trustees report and what it means for the future of the program. Most economic analysts find very little difference in the Republican or Democratic proposals to make it solvent.

Noah talks to former Senator George McGovern about his new book "Terry". The book is about his daughter's struggle with alcoholism. "Terry" died about a year-and-a-half-ago at the age of 45. McGovern says he regrets the "tough love" approach he and his wife took with their daughter the last few months of her life. And, he says, he didn't realize until it was too late that his daughter really had no control over her disease.

Susan talks with Dr. Bill Walsh, president of Health Research Institute in Naperville Chicago about an ongoing study on some 600 strands of Beethoven's hair. A group of scientists are examining the hair in order to learn more about Beethoven such as how he died and what might have caused his hearing loss.

one who waited for hours to see Garth Brooks, one who has decided to abandon her career as a dental hygienist and move to Nashville to sing, and another who has been collected hundreds of photos, ticket stubs, and guitar picks for years.

Tatiana Schreiber (tah-CHAH-na SHRY-bur) reports on the only accredited college in the U.S. exclusively serving students with learning disabilities. She attends a recent graduation ceremony to talk with students and teachers.

Noah talks to Matt Wald, aviation correspondent for the New York Times, about developments in the investigation of the causes of the crash of Valujet Flight 592. Investigators are now looking at the possibility that oxygen generators were mislabeled or mishandled and caused the fire on board the aircraft.

Commentator Lydia Nayo (NI-o) recalls when during her childhood, her father would barter an old mantle clock for food at the local grocery. And he always came home with cornflakes. She has come to associate cornflakes with the mental and spiritual weight of poverty, and even though she is much more prosperous now, she still can't eat them. Nayo has come to believe that as long as she keeps them out of her cupboard, she will keep the wolf from the door.