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Commentator Elissa Ely is teaching her husband to play the piano-- his inspiration for practicing is keeping an eye on the Red Sox game. She wishes he could have the inspiration she had when she learned-- her teacher's houseful of Russian wolfhounds.

Tess Vigeland of member station WBUR reports that the Boston Latin School has settled out of court with a family that sued the school to protest a special entrance provision for minority students. As part of the settlement, the city's school board will drop special racial admissions categories for the city's prestigious Boston Latin School, and for two other top schools. The student and her family sued after she was denied admission despite receiving higher test scores than some minority students who were admitted.

Danny speaks to Rwanda's Ambassador to the United States, Theogene Rudasingwa. The Rwandan diplomat says the return of the refugees back home obviates the need for a multinational force, whose original mission was to secure the refugees against attacks by Hutu militiamen. With the militamen now on the run, Rudasingwa says his country can be responsible for security. But he now wants international donors who sustained the refugees in their camps to give the funds to Rwanda for their resettlement.

Linda talks with Michael Mandel, Economics Editor for Business Week Magazine and the author of High Risk Society: Peril & Promise in the New Economy . They discuss how 1996 was a record year for mergers, and they talks about the pros and cons of having a highly concentrated marketplace for certain goods and services.

Europe is suffering through extremely harsh weather conditions this week. NPR's Michael Goldfarb reports that the normal winter-time weather patterns have changed. This week, Europe is affected by cold winds blowing out of Russia. Temperatures in some areas have dropped to as low as 34 degrees below zero.

In an interview first aired on December 31st, 1991, Robert talks to Hugh McDonald, head of music for BBC Radio Scotland, about the correct pronunciation of the phrase "Auld Lang Syne." McDonald says that the majority of people who will sing that song as the old year passes away will pronounce the word "syne" as "zyne," which is incorrect; the correct pronunciation is "sine" (as in cosine and tangent). We also hear a performance of the song by Irish singer Susan McKeown (muh-KEEN) and bassist Lindsey Horner to a melody different from the one we are used to hearing. They also perform the song on a cassette, "Through the Bitter Frost and Snow."

Noah talks with Cheryl Wheeler about travelling as a singer-songwriter, listening to great songs on the radio like "Memphis" and "Kansas City," and the difficulties of being a professional musician when you're expected to sing at Thanksgiving gatherings. She sings for us "Mrs. Pinocci's Guitar" and a new song, "Sylvia Hotel."

in the 1967 Six Day War. The area is considered the key to any possible peace agreement between Israel and Syria.

Noah Adams talks with two nuclear warfare experts about the significance of a statement signed by 60 retired military officers around the world, which calls for the virtual elimination of nuclear weapons. U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll, retired, is deputy director of the Center for Defense Information. From 1955 until 1980, he was responsible for planning and training for nuclear warfare. In the 1980s, as Director of Operations for U.S. forces in Europe and the Middle East, Carroll was responsible for 7,000 nuclear weapons. He signed the statement. Richard Perle is a former Assistant Secretary of Defense, and is currently a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. As part of the Reagan administration, he was responsible for negotiations with the Soviet Union on nuclear arms. Perle, who didn't sign the statement, says it's dangerous for the U.S. to get rid of all its nuclear weapons.

. North Korea has arrested an American and charged him with spying for South Korea. Seoul denies the charge. This latest incident comes just a few weeks after a North Korean submarine was captured in South Korea's waters.

. Today, the Ford Motor Company will produce its two-hundred-and 50-millionth vehicle, AND this year marks the one hundredth birthday of automobile production in the U.S. We'll hear from Ralph NAder, New York City's traffic commissioner, a car loving poet, and from Tom and Ray, the hosts of Car Talk.

inside the British army's headquarters in Lisburn. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

Bob Dole's campaign bus rolled through a rainy New Jersey today. Attempting to capitalize on what aides characterize a strong showing in the first presidential debate, the Republican nominee hopes his tax cut plan and focus on trust will appeal to the state's swing voters. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

Executive Director of the Twentieth Century Fund task force that recommended changes in the presidential appointment process.

The Justice Department has turned down a third request for an independent counsel to investigate possible campaign finance violations involving former Democratic fundraiser John Huang. But NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that the Attorney General is referring the case to an internal Justice Department campaign finance task force. The Justice Department says the case does not meet the criteria of the Independent Counsel Act: It doesn't involve high administration officials and it doesn't create a conflict of interest for the Justice Department. Senator John McCain made the request, and says the decision not to appoint an independent counsel may make congressional hearings necessary.

Federal officials are warning people in California and other states that have legalized medicinal marijuana-smoking that the federal ban is still in effect. NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports that state proponents of decriminalizing marijuana say they hope the feds will decide not to enforce it. They say that's what happened in the days when states were repealing their liquor prohibition laws, but the federal ban had not, and the practical effect was to decriminalize alcohol.

NPR's Elizabeth Arnold talks with Robert about the year ahead for the 105th Congress. This new Congress is expected to have more willingness to compromise with the White House. The Senate is also expected to play a greater role in achieving Republican political goals, now that the House membership has become more bipartisan.

Alan Cheuse reviews the translation of Jules Verne's lost manuscript Paris in the 20th Century, which has just been published in the U-S. The story was written over one hundred and thirty years ago, and describes what Paris might be like in the 1960's. It would be a city in which art is consumed by science and business and which people communicate by a machine eerily similiar to a fax machine. Paris in the 20th Century is published by Random House.

The state of Virginia executed more people than any other state in the last year. The reason? Virginia has a new law that limits death row appeals. Laura Womack of member station WAMU reports.

to the business world by helping them become student entrepreneurs. He profiles a high-school senior who earns extra money as a D.J. When the student got involved in the University of California at Berkeley's entrepreneur program, he went from making 25-dollars a gig, to earning thousands of dollars a month.

and how the rebels and the authorities are using the media, or not, in the government's case.

- For the people of Manila, the APEC summit is the largest gathering ever to take place in their city. In the first of an occasional series of audio postcards from our correspondents, NPR's Julie Mccarthy explores how the Philippinos prepare for a summit.

, public acceptance of homosexuality has increased 10-percent. There are more gay and lesbian characters on prime time T.V. than ever before. But some say these characterizations are not always very realistic.

NPR's Debbie Elliott reports that oyster harvesting along parts of the Gulf of Mexico, from South Florida to Texas, is in danger because of a large algal bloom, usually called "red tide." The algae can be toxic to fish and other sea creatures...and that toxin cannot be destroyed by cooking, so the area's entire seafood harvest could be destroyed along parts of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana.

that the EPA is expected to issue as early as today. The new rules will be costly and are expected to trigger a political fight.