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Commentator Andrei Codrescu explores the twisted qualities of health care in the age of HMO's. He talks about the absurdity of insurance companies that put financial profits before human life.

They discuss one of this season's top players, Center Tim Duncan of Wake Forest, who has resisted offers to go professional before finishing college. Wake Forest is ranked number two in the nation, largely because of Duncan. Tomorrow, he and his teammates take on the University of Maryland, which is ranked number five.

committee responsible for investigating such allegations of improper fundraising. The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee split directly along party lines this week on its first vote: how much money to spend on the investigation. Republicans supported the six-point-five million dollar supplemental budget request. Democrats opposed it as too expensive.

NPR'S Eric Westervelt reports on Atlantic City, whose residents voted to legalize gambling twenty years ago today. Touted at the time as an economic savior for the troubled New Jersey city...many of the promises have not held true...as Atlantic City is now undergoing a second wave of casino development.

NPR's John Ydstie reports that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan encouraged the Congress to move forward on efforts to revise the nation's main inflation guage, the consumer price index. Greenspan reiterated his view that the CPI overstates inflation and forces the government to overcompensate retirees and others for the effect of inflation.

Key members of Congress say they are ready to negotiate on President Clinton's proposal to take over some of the responsibilities of the District of Columbia government. The city would lose its annual 660 million dollar payment, but would be relieved of jobs like collecting city income taxes and running prisons for the most serious offenders. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports that proponents hope the federal government can do better than the city, which they see as badly mismanaged.

has stirred up a row within the governing Conservative Party on European monetary union by suggesting that unless Britain joins the single European currency, it won't invest any money in new plants.

Steve Young of Vermont Public Radio reports on a lawsuit filed on behalf of a young Vermont student from a relatively poor school district. The suit, like others in other states, challenges the way Vermont distributes tax funds for schools and argues that it creates huge disparities in education state-wide.

with more than 30 states to stave off legal action over its unlimited Internet access package. The company will refund subscribers who haven't been able to log-on because the system became overloaded.

about the current status of relations between Israel and Syria, as well as the proxy war in South Lebanon.

Linda talks with Ed Ulbrich (ULL-brick), the vice president and executive producer of Digital Domain, the largest visual effects studio in Hollywood. With a re-release of the movie "Stars Wars" today, we are reminded that this film brought Hollywood into the computer age with its special effects. We look ahead at what's next. Digital Domain is developing computer technology that can replace human actors with cyber-stand-ins, create sets and crowd scenes, and other technological visual wizardry.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Belgrade on a change in the protest movement against the government of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. The daily street demonstrations haven't stopped since last November. They've given birth to new initiatives to change the political, civic and economic landscape in Serbia.

Next week is the 75th anniversary of the first publication (in Paris) of James Joyce's masterpiece of modern literature, "Ulysses." The book's American obscenity trial resulted in a landmark court decision, and the hype surrounding the book raised issues that remain relevant today. The story of "Ulysses" is as much a story about savvy marketing and art as investment as it is about the First Amendment and a discerning readership. NPR's Dean Olsher reports.

Robert talks with Lawrence Kobelinski is the associate provost and a professor of forensic science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. They discuss the news that the laboratories of the Federal Bureau of Investigation may have mishandled evidence from the Oklahoma City bombing, and what that means for expert witnesses around the nation.

Retailers and manufacturers of computer software have turned their attention to girls this year. NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports on what parents can expect to find on the market this holiday season. Little girls can direct their own animated Barbie movie...join a virtual clique to talk about dating; creat invoices for their babysitting businesses; or find out "the hows and whys" of their developing bodies.

We hear an excerpt from Madeleine Albright's comments before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, where she is in the first stages of the confirmation process for the office of Secretary of State. She talked about why foreign policy matters to all Americans.

President Clinton's 1.69 trillion dollar budget proposal for the next fiscal year. When the plan arrived at the Capitol yesterday, Republicans and Democrats alike expressed guarded optimism that a budget compromise can be reached: something that hasn't happened in years.

Linda talks with Matthew Wald, a Washington correspondent for the New York Times, about today's near-miss between four F-16 fighter jets and a commuter aircraft. This incident comes on the heels of yesterday's similar problem off the New Jersey coast in which two F-16 jets swooped in on a civilian passenger flight. Investigators are now concerned with who should take the blame for these near-tragedies.

This year is the 50th anniversary of Dior's "New Look", the post-war fashion which was anything but new. The couture, padded and cinched and unsexy, was first snapped up by the wives of wealthy Parisian 'egg and butter men' - black marketeers -- then it swept the world. A retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art, a new Dior biography, and of course, Madonna's Evita prompt another look at the silhouette Dior designed with his mother in mind from NPR Correspondent Susan Stamberg.

of the dangers of space junk and debris, and the problems it could cause for the international space station scheduled to be up and running by next year. There's four-million pounds of debris in orbit around the Earth.

Fallout continues from the indefinite postponement of a hearing on House Speaker Newt Gingrich's violations of ethics standards. A Democratic member of the ethics panel has called the announcement a "Thursday Night Massacre," and the casualties are bipartisan consensus and ethics process. Meanwhile, Republicans are calling for a criminal investigation into tape recordings of a cellular phone conversation in which Gingrich is heard discussing plans to manage the public disclosure of the charges against him, an apparent violation of a promise to the committee. NPR's Brian Naylor has a report.

NPR's Tovia (TOE-vee-uh) Smith reports on the long suffering fans of the New England Patriots football team, which goes to the final round of the AFC playoffs this Sunday.

Linda talks with Joe Jackson, a pop music correspondent for the Irish Times. They discuss the new CD collection of old Irish hymns called "Faith of our Fathers," which has hit the top of the pop charts in Ireland. (STATIONS: "Faith of Our Fathers," featuring Frank Patterson, Regina Nathan, the Monks of Glenstal Abbey and the Irish Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, is not yet available in the United States. It is expected to be released in March of this year, on the RTE label, catalogue number RTE CD198.) (8:00) ((ST

Commentator Lenore Skenazy is outraged by Mattel's voluntary decision to stop making and selling the Cabbage Patch doll that has been eating kids' hair and fingers. Tongue-in-cheek, she wonders if this will lead to the banning of all flesh-eating toys ... some of which she extracts from her imagination.

South Korea's largest labor union has called for a two-day strike to try to force thr government to reject a new law that would allow companies to lay off workers. Thousands of riot police and strikers clogged downtown Seoul today, but negotiations seem to be underway. Robert speaks with the BBC's Charles Scanlon in Seoul, who is observing the situation.