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recovery following his surgery yesterday.

Senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that now that the hoopla of election night is over, it is apparent that the results show some alarming trends in the American electorate.

NPR's David Baron reports that Massachusetts has become the first state in the nation to make detailed information on doctors easily available to the public. As of today, consumers can get comprehensive profiles of physicians licensed in the state. These profiles include previously confidential information about malpractice suits. Some doctors complain the information isn't a good measure of quality.

- Reporter Alex Van Oss reports that the people of Finland consider Santa Claus one of their own...and have a workshop near the Arctic Circle to prove it. Van Oss visits the Finnish Embassy Christmas party where diplomats give their government's official policy on the origins of Santa.

Linda talks with Tyler Nordgren, a graduate student of astronomy at Cornell University. They talks about how Carl Sagan, who died today at the age of 62, inspired him to study astronomy. Nordgren used to rush home from school to watch Sagan's PBS series "Cosmos" on television, and eventually decided to study interacting galaxies as a result.

the growing use of cellular telephones: fraudulently charging calls to other people's phone numbers; and illegally eavesdropping on other people's cellular conversations. The former involves a practice known as, 'cloning,' in which a person's cell phone number is replicated; the latter involves the use of a scanner, which enables someone to listen in on calls.

Commentator David Greenberger thinks the phrase "no problem" is a bad substitute for "you're welcome." It emphasizes the negative -- saying "this kindness I showed you could have resulted in discomfort to me, but lucky for you, it didn't."

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that in Argentina, President Carlos Menem (MEN-um) continues to confound his critics. Since taking office in 1989, his government has stopped hyperinflation and put the Argentine economy on a high-growth track, mainly by selling off money-losing state industries. Menem's policy surprised many Argentines ...he campaigned for president as a follower of Juan Peron (purr-OHN), who built up the big state sector as Argentina's president fifty years ago. Now in his second term, Carlos Menem is shaking the Peronist (PAIR-oh-nist) party again, this time by challenging labor unions, the traditional base of the Peronist movement. Menem's reforms raise the question of whether Peronism (PAIR-uh-nizm) is finished in Argentina.

NPR's John Burnett reports on Texas Attorney General Dan Morales' order barring affirmative action by public colleges and universities. Colleges may not use race as a factor in admissions, scholarships or recruitment programs.

New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani has announced plans to send 1000 poorly-performing students from the city's public school system to local Catholic schools. We visit Bishop Loughlin (LOCK-lin) High School in Brooklyn to talk with students and educators about the differences between the public and parochial school settings. As NPR's Barbara Mantel reports, teachers feel that Catholic schools like Loughlin bring a sense of a mission to the job of teaching -- giving students a greater feeling of belonging than they receive in public schools.

Commentator Kristine Holmgren says as a young girl she was taught to remember the poor -- to be generous and share. Now she says there is little respect for the poor...they are seen as evil and the demonization of the poor is breeding cynicism about poverty. She worries that the plight of the poor in general no longer moves us. Rather, we are only moved by an interruption in our own material success.

NPR's Edward Lifson reports from Germany on a ground-breaking ceremony that brings a little closer the government move from Bonn to Berlin. Despite opposition, the German government is plowing ahead. It has persuaded some ministries to move into existing buildings, but is also proceeding with new construction. Today, Chancellor Kohl broke ground for a new chancellory building. The target date for the government move is the end of 1999.

President Clinton outlines his proposal for a tuition tax credit for middle class parents with children in college.

Robert talks to Roger Wilkins, a history professor at George Mason University, about the two trials of OJ Simpson. Wilkins says that Blacks and whites view the trials very differently.

Investigators say they are racing to keep up with an explosion of child pornography made possible by computer networks. They say the Internet makes creating and circulating sexually-explicit material easier than ever. Congress has tried to help law enforcement in its crackdown by passing a new law that expands the definition of child pornography. But NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that civil libertarians say the law infringes on the constitutional protection of free speech.

under the austere Islamic rule of the Taliban . There's no music, no soccer, no chess, no women to talk to. But there is no crime either and, among the thugs, there is still poetry.

They were designed to let drivers avoid accidents...but a new study shows that fatality rates are actually higher for autos equipped with anti-lock brakes. For instance, the study, conducted by a insurance industry group, found that passengers were more likely to die in single-car crashes in cars with anti-lock brakes. As NPR's Don Gonyea reports, the experts say they're not yet sure what accounts for the loss in safety benefits.

NPR'S Kathleen Schalch reports that Washington D.C. has played host this week to a gathering of micro-lending organizations from around the world. Lending very small amounts of money directly to the poor has shown great success in the developing world...and conference organizers want to dramatically increase the number of people such programs reach.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from Buenos Aires that though its Jewish community is one of the largest outside of Israel, it continues to live in fear of anti-Semitism. Twice in the past five years, Jewish institutions have been the targets of bloody attacks and none of these crimes has ever been solved. Argentina's Jews maintain that the local police fail to protect their community.

finally backed down in the face of ten weeks of opposition protests against his decision to annul election results.

directed at the Army's highest ranking enlisted man, Sergeant Major of the Army Gene McKinney. Sergeant Major Brenda er, who was McKinney's subordinate at the time, accuses him of repeatedly making improper sexual advances. Hoster says she retired from the Army after her superiors refused to take disciplinary action against McKinney.

if the government were to change the way it calculates inflation, as recommended by a Congressional commission. To protect taxpayers from inflation, the tax code is pegged to the Consumer Price Index. Reducing the CPI by one-point-one percent a year, as the commission recommends, would effectively raise most people's taxes.

While many efforts to use the Internet for commerce have proved disappointing, there are a few web-based businesses that appear to have the right formula. One such company is Tunes.com...the company runs a web site that allows you to listen to a little bit of every track from a cd. Tunes.com already has more than 200,000 music tracks available. NPR's John McChesney reports on how the company has managed to combine novelty and profitability.

The budget of the District of Columbia has been in trouble for years, and President Clinton has made a proposal to help the city in his new federal budget. Under the plan, about three-point-nine billion dollars of federal money would be spent on Washington, D-C over the next five years. Nearly half of that money would go to expand, renovate and operate the city's prisons. NPR's Kathleen Schlach reports on the problems that led to the District's prison crisis.

- As the military downsizes and defense spending decreases, many defense contractors are looking for ways to use their technology for non-military uses. NPR's Richard Harris visits one company that is applying its research to resolve a religious issue.