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Israeli and Palestinian authorities are now poised to sign an agreement for an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank town of Hebron. The agreement marks a significant step forward in the Middle East peace process, which has been bogged down since the election of right wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last May. Daniel speaks with Hebron Mayor Mustafa Natsche and an Israeli settler, David Wilder, about their rival visions of peace.

Commentator Reuven Frank looks at the year in the TV...an industry that keeps on changing, with recent developments in satellite services and multiple channel offerings. but he says most of these changes don't amount to improvements---multiple channels seem to offer multiple opportunities to watch old movies or talk shows -- and all this diversity of programming means television will no longer provide a shared national experience.

With the New Year about to begin, two of the most powerful political figures in the country face serious ethical questions. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports on the growing scandal swirling around House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the concerns being raised about how President Clinton and the Democratic National Committee raised campaign funds from foreign donors.

NPR'S Margot Adler reports that there are more tourists in New York City than ever before. Thirty million so far this year, one million just for Christmas week. Traffic too seems more congested. While there are some obvious explanations for the surge...like crime is down and the economy is up... nobody is certain just why the city has become such a tourist sensation.

John Reznikoff collects hair. The president of University Archives, a company that buys and sells valuable manuscripts, currently has 101 hair locks in his collection that originate from a wide range of celebrities, from George and Martha Washington to Geronimo to England's King Charles I. Daniel talks with Reznikoff, a Nobel Prize-winning scientist who is currently allowing some of his hair samples to be used for their DNA in "DNA Jewelry," which Reznikoff is now marketing.

Daniel speaks with Tom Rollins, the President of the Teaching Company in Springfield, Virginia. Rollins prides himself for having the best collection of college lectures by America's superstar teachers. Rollins travels to colleges and universities around the country to determine the best lecturers in fields ranging from astronomy and Western Literature to Algebra One.

Items like toys, jewelry and clothing sold well, but despite expectations of big holiday spending, sales don't look much better than last year.

Wendy Kaufman reports on near-record snow and ice in the Pacific Northwest that has cut power to hundreds of thousands of people, stranded many more, and brought cities to a grinding halt.

may loosen standards that define exactly what ingredients can be in certain foods -- a move that alarms consumer advocates.

FederalOfficials today launched an all-out attack on state initiatives legalizing the medical use of marijuana and other recreational drugs. Attorney General Janet Reno said she'd enforce federal laws against doctors who prescribe pot for patients. But as Joe Palca reports, the debate over the medical value of marijuana is far from settled.

Kathy Lohr reports that it hasn't been a good holiday season for ValuJet. The airline canceled some flights because it hadn't gotten final permission from the government to fly the routes. ValuJet has been struggling ever since the crash of its flight 592 in the Everglades last May, which killed everyone on board. The airline was shut down for 3 months.

A bomb ripped through an express train carrying at least 1,200 passengers in northeastern India today. Local officials fear that several dozen people may have died in the blast. The BBC's Subhir Baumik has this report.

to recommendations that the government change the way it calculates inflation. The effect would be felt by recipients of Social Security and other government benefits.

Scientists at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology say they've proved that a chemical found in the brains of mice is responsible for turning long-term memories off and on. Some researchers say that the findings, which appear in tomorrow's issue of the journal Cell, could provide new insights into human memory disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. NPR's David Baron reports.

into a program aimed at encouraging peasant farmers to dig up coca plants and grow mainstream crops instead, as well as helping the military destroy illegal facilities.

sports stories of the year. Among other things, they discuss golfer Tiger Woods, the story-book tale of the New York Yankees and their manager Joe Torre, the Chicago Bulls record breaking 72-win season and the success of female athletes at the summer Olympics in Atlanta.

will meet today with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, reportedly to finalize plans to withdraw Israeli troops from Hebron.

to finish the controversial Three Gorges Dam by 2009. The project will provide more power than any other dam in the world, but it will flood a huge area along the Yangtze River in central China...including sites containing artifacts from ancient Chinese cultures. Archaeologists want more time, and many, to save the priceless historical treasures.

in Tibet.

One of President Clinton's top goals for his second term is to improve the nation's education system. NPR's Mara Liasson reports that in the coming year, the president will push for the passage of a college tuition tax credit and for federal funding of a national literacy program, in an effort to stop the slide of America's elementary and secondary schools.

Senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that President Clinton's words about smaller federal government and greater state power have not matched his recent actions.

The conclusion of Bob Garfield's country music odyssey.

Flying tourists over the Grand Canyon is big business. But the federal government now says it's too noisy, and has decided to restrict where, when and how often planes and helicopters can cruise over the West's top tourist attraction. NPR's Howard Berkes reports that neither environmentalists nor tour companies are happy with the compromise regulations.

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken the first clear pictures of distant galaxies containing quasars. Quasars are the most violent events in the universe...and astronomers are surprised to discover that they come from rather ordinary looking galaxies. This discovery is forcing scientists to rethink their theories about quasar formation. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

NPR's Richard Harris reports on a new study showing that women who eat a high-sugar, low-fiber diet greatly increase their risk for diabetes. But the American Diabetes Association said the study was flawed because it failed to find a link between diets that are high in fat and the development of diabetes. The study appears in tomorrow's Journal of the American Medical Association.