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NPR's Cheryl Devall reports on an historic shift in the Florida legislature. Both houses are now Republican-controlled. They may find themselves at odds with Democratic Governor Lawton Chiles ... a situation similar to that of the President and the Congress.

A sunken World War II-era tanker that may be loaded with more than 3 million gallons of oil was recently discovered on the edge of the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary. A spill from the tankers' rotting holds could do all kinds of damage. The Coast Guard says the best thing to do is leave the tanker alone. NPR's John Nielsen explains why. The tanker Montebello was sunk 55 years ago today by a Japanese submarine.

Rebel forces set free Uruguay's ambassador after his country provided the first concession of the hostage-taking, releasing two rebels imprisoned there.

Cordell Hull Reagon, a founding member of the civil-rights era quartet The Freedom Singers, has died in Berkeley, California. As a civil rights leader and vocal artist, he gave a voice to the civil rights movement of the early sixties. Robert and Noah remember his work.

Commentator Captain Rosemary Mariner calls for a return to the concept of "vertical accountability" in the military. Recent allegations of sexual misconduct in in Army training schools violate one of the most basic moral concepts in the military; if these are allegations are true, we should be disciplining people at the top of the pyramid, not the bottom.

The corporate battle for control of the Conrail railroad moved to federal court in Philadelphia today. Conrail agreed to a merger with CSX last month, but another railroad, Norfolk Southern, quickly countered with a higher bid. Whoever wins the merger fight will have a dominant position in the eastern United States. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports that many Conrail workers are worried that their jobs will be lost when the merger goes through.

NPR's Michael Goldfarb in London reports on new facts emerging from inspectors who are looking at the damage in the train tunnel underneath the English Channel between Britain and France. Monday night, a freight train caught fire. There were no serious injuries to passengers or crew, but the tunnel has been shut down. Questions yet to be answered concern safety for future train transport, and how the shut-down will affect the financial future of the Chunnel.

to keep a rare type of whale alive after it washed up on an isolated stretch of the Texas coast over the weekend.

NPR'S Eric Weiner reports that the Bhutto family history is marked by both power and tragedy. The father of recently deposed prime minister Benazir Bhutto was hanged by his political opponents. And there are allegations that Benazir Bhutto indirectly contributed to her brother's death. Some Pakistanis are now saying that the Bhutto name has been indelibly scarred by Benazir Bhutto's recent behavior.

to de-regulate the banking industry. Under the new proposal, banks would be free to venture into other lines of business, such as insurance and real estate.

House Republicans unanimously re-nominated Newt Gingrich as House Speaker today, despite unresolved allegations of improper campaign finance activities by the Georgia Congressman. In his acceptance speech, Gingrich promised to work with President Clinton, and said the 105th Congress would be the "implementation Congress". The Republicans also re-elected Dick Armey of Texas as majority leader, as well as the rest of Gingrich's leadership team. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

In Hong Kong, a community theatre group transforms the British tradition of the Christmas pantomime -- a satirical musical comedy -- into a slapstick critique of the colony's politics. NPR's Mary Kay Magistad reports on this year's performance, the last before China takes over. Chinese control of the island may bring a less permissive atmosphere. Will the pantomime of the future have the same sharp bite as today's?

of the >Times of India about the controversy in India over the Miss World contest.

around the globe in trying to re-write their computer software before the year 2000.

- On election night, news networks will be predicting winners hours before polls close around the country. Daniel talks with Curtis Gans about the effect of these projections on voter turnouts. Gans is the Director of the Non-Partisan Committee for the Study of the American Electorate. He says many studies show a decline in voting on the West coast after networks begin projecting winners, which could make a big difference in this election.

Noah talks with Don Gonyea in Detroit, Michigan about the latest charges being filed against Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Dr. Kevorkian was charged today with nineteen criminal counts in conjunction with ten assisted suicides that have taken place since June.

Ina Jaffe reports on a ghoulish store Los Angeles. Necromance is its name, and it specializes in bones, heads and organs of all kinds of animals - including people.

NPR's John Ydstie reports the unemployment rate remained unchanged in October at 5.2%. But the economy did manage to generate a healthy number of new jobs -- business payrolls were up 210,000 for the month. There were several other reports on the economy today...the last batch of information before the Presidential election next week.

This week, the director of the federal government's human genome project announced that papers he co-authored contained fabricated data collected by a junior scientist in his laboratory.

Critic Bob Mondello has a review of the new Baz Luhrmann film, "Romeo and Juliet." The script is faithful to the language of the Shakespeare play...the characters all speak in Elizabethan English...but the setting has been moved to the present-day. Mondello says that the imagery and use of modern sets is somewhat discordant and unsettling, but that the story has lost none of its power.

in Chicago.

After elections in which the number of police on the streets and leadership in the drug war were debated, Congress and the president have the same issues to confront in 1997. NPR's Chitra Ragavan says other crime issues likely to occupy Washington next year are computer crime, militia movements, and the cost of the growing prison population.

At a meeting in Bethesda, Maryland today, researchers presented evidence about how our mental state can affect our physical bodies. In one study, researchers showed that happily married couples had weakened immune systems after a fight. So if you're going to have a fight with your spouse, you'd better button up your overcoat. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports.

Former diplomat Alger Hiss, accused of having been part of a communist espionage ring in the 1930's, died today at a New York Hospital at the age of 92. Robert talks about the Hiss case and its influence on American politics in this obituary. Hiss maintained his innocence up through the end of his life.

NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports on what appears to be a split vote on six Congressional House seats up for grabs this election. The state was seen as a bellwether for the conservative shift in 1994, when six seats flipped from Democratic to Republican. The margin was narrow in 1994, however, and this year's readjustment may indicate that 1994 wasn't such a strong rightward swing.