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NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports on lifestyle options of those who've made a fortune in high-tech. With the resources to retire at very early ages, some former employees of AOL are finding ways to enjoy some of life simple pleasures while remaining productive.

Veteran broadcaster Robert Trout recalls The Senator Was Indiscreet, a little remembered motion picture that cast a cynical look at the political process. The film talked about the balancing act between the press, public relations and politics. Actor William Powell played an inept senator with presidential ambitions. He had a secret diary that threatened to derail him. The story by George S. Kaufman never caught on with audiences. But Trout says there's a lot of cold-hearted wisdom in this movie comedy that we can still learn from today. It deals with patronage and pride in ways that were meant to be an exaggeration at the time. But after Spiro Agnew, Wayne Hayes, Watergate and the like, the film seems like a celluloid crystal ball.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden profiles Marwan Barghouti, one of the chief organizers of the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank. Barghouti says he believes the violence will eventually create better conditions for peace talks with Israel.

With the U.S.S. Cole beginning its journey home from Yemen, NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr looks at America's inability to respond to terrorism.

The Democrats need only seven seats to recapture control of the House. But they have an uphill fight on their hands to retain the seat of Congressman Michael Forbes of New York. Forbes, who switched to the Democratic party last year, was upset in last month's Democratic primary by a 71-year old political unknown. Republicans, who had vowed revenge against Forbes for his party switch, appear poised to pick up the seat. Beth Fertig of member station WNYC reports from Long Island.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome that tomorrow, Pope John Paul the Second will proclaim Thomas More the patron saint of statesmen and politicians. Thomas More, the Renaissance humanist, jurist, diplomat and author of Utopia, is revered by Christians as a symbol of integrity and conscience. He was beheaded by King Henry the Eighth for refusing to recognize the monarch as England's supreme spiritual leader. The suggestion to make Thomas More the patron saint of politicians came first from former Italian president Francesco Cossiga.

NPR's Andy Bowers reports that presidential hopefuls George W. Bush and Al Gore have just one week left to convince voters they're the right man for the job. It's a stressful time for both candidates, but each took time to show they still have a sense of humor after months of campaigning.

Robert Siegel talks to NPR's David Welna, who is in Missouri covering the announcement by Jean Carnahan, the widow of Gov. Mel Carnahan, that she will accept appointment to the Senate if her late husband is elected next week. Mel Carnahan was campaigning against Republican Senator John Ashcroft when he died in a plane crash two weeks ago. His death came too late for his name to be removed from the ballot, and so Democrats are urging a vote for Mel Carnahan -- the late Mel Carnahan -- as a tribute. Mel Carnahan's successor, Roger Wilson, had said he would appoint Mrs. Carnahan to the Senate if Ashcroft were to be defeated.

NPR's Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem reports the Israeli parliament reconvened today for the first time since the outbreak of the new Palestinian uprising. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak opened the story session by warning the Palestinians there will be no peace talks as long as the violence continues.

NPR's David Welna reports that numerous questions remain about the Senate race in Missouri. Missouri's Governor Mel Carnahan, died two weeks ago in a plane crash. Carnahan was the democratic opponent of Senator John Ashcroft. Carnahan's death, however, did not remove is name from the ballot, and now he's actually leading in the polls. Many are wondering what will happen if the state elects the deceased governor to the U.S. Senate.

NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg previews arguments in a Supreme Court environmental case with major implications for local governments and federal regulators. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to say 'no' to a proposed land fill in the Chicago metropolitan area because of its potential damage to migratory birds. Municipal governments say the Corps doesn't have jurisdiction because the wetlands are entirely within Illinois borders. The Corps says it's enforcing the Clean Water Act. Arguments will be heard today.

NPR's Linda Gradstein reports on the latest developments in the Middle East. Israeli helicopter fired rockets at the command centers of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last night in retaliation for the slayings of two Israelis, presumably by Palestinians.

NPR's Peter Overby reports on how one group, the Sierra Club is makings its voice heard in the 2000 Presidential campaign by making issue ads. With no limit on what interest groups can collect and spend, issue ads are often one way they advocate for their preferred candidate. Vice President Al Gore is the beneficiary of the issue ad campaign by the Sierra Club, an environmental group.

Texas Governor George W. Bush began the final full week of the presidential campaign in the West today, trying to pry loose the biggest prize of all -- California and its trove of 54 electoral votes. Polls show the race tightening on the West Coast, where Bush has been outspending Vice President Al Gore in recent weeks. Gore now plans a return visit of his own to the state this week. NPR's Andy Bowers is based in Southern California and has been following the presidential campaign.

Robert and Linda observe the recent travel by the presidential candidates -- indicating which states are still hot contests.

The first resident crew of the International Space Station is scheduled to lift off at 2:53 a.m. E.S.T. Tuesday in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. The first crew to live aboard the International Space Station includes U.S. Astronaut Bill Shepherd, who will serve as station commander, Soyuz Commander Yuri Gidzenko and Flight Engineer Sergei Krikalev. NPR's Joe Palca says the crew will spend four months on the station, checking out equipment, and helping to install new station parts that were delivered by the space shuttle.

Those ticker tape parades are getting to be routine for the New York Yankees. Kerry Nolan of member station WNYC reports that thousands of New Yorkers lined Broadway's Canyon of Heroes to cheer on the Yankees, who have won four of the past five World Series. Yankee fans considered this year's triumph especially sweet, because it came over the cross-town rival Mets, and because the team had been playing poorly at the end of the season.

Democrat Al Gore held a old-fashioned political rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin today. Won by Democrats in each of the last three presidential elections, the state is being hotly contested by Republican George Bush as Green Party nominee Ralph Nader siphons liberal votes away from the Democratic Party. NPR's Anthony Brooks is with the Gore campaign.

Linda talks with Paul Christian, Chief of the Boston Fire Department about three fires over the weekend in South Boston that destroyed ten apartment buildings -- known in Boston as "triple deckers." The fires were whipped by strong winds, and nearly all of the city's fire fighting forces were brought out in response.

Voters in 44 states will elect new legislatures next Tuesday. Although most of the campaigns revolve around local issues like traffic and sprawl, the outcomes are of great importance to both national parties. The state legislatures will draw the boundaries for new Congressional districts next year, giving them the power to erase or augment the gains made by either party in next Tuesday's election. NPR's Pam Fessler went to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania to see how the national attention on the race was affecting one close contest for the state Senate.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from London that the worst storm in more than a decade struck Britain. The rain and gale-force winds brought the south of England to a virtual standstill. Fallen trees and floods closed roads and rail lines. At least four people were reported killed in storm-related accidents.

NPR's National Political Correspondent Elizabeth Arnold reports that this year's Presidential election may be decided by a handful of states. In the final week before the election Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush takes his campaign to California as he continues to challenge Vice President Al Gore in states that are traditionally Democratic.

Both Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush say they support a patients' bill of rights, and both make the issue part of the daily stump speeches. But while Gore has been very specific about his support for a bill that is stalled in Congress, Bush has kept avoided talk of too many details. As NPR's Julie Rovner reports, Bush's generalities about the issues sometimes conflict with one another, but not so much as to roil voters.

Robert talks to NPR's Eric Westervelt about the dismissal of attempted murder and assault charges against two New Jersey state troopers in a 1988 shooting on the New Jersey Turnpike. In dismissing the charges, the judge said prosecutors had abused their power and used unfair tactics. The troopers -- both white -- had argued that they fired in self defense injuring three of four men in a van they had pulled over for speeding. All four of those men are minorities. The case raised concerns about racial profiling. A remaining indictment against the troopers alleges the troopers tried to hid information about the race of the motorists.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome that an Italian cardinal has denounced the growing popularity of Halloween as an unwelcome foreign import. Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini urged Italian children to follow traditional Catholic rituals honoring the dead tomorrow, November first -- when the Church celebrates as All Saints' Day. Italian sociologists worry about a revival of witchcraft. Until a few years ago, Halloween was unknown in Italy. This year, jack-o-lanterns adorn shop windows, and children are dressing up as witches and vampires.