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A new study released today reports growing violence on television. The 3-year National Television Violence Study was conducted by researchers from four universities. They found two thirds of the network prime time and cable programs monitored in June 1997 contained physical violence. In comparison, half the programs monitored in October 1994 were considered violent. The study also concluded that the current TV rating system is an inadequate way to inform parents about television violence. NPR's Brooke Gladstone reports.

A damaged tanker breaks apart off the coast of Spain, spilling several tons of oil into the ocean. Salvage crews work to contain the spill, but with 70,000 tons of oil aboard, officials fear an environmental disaster worse than the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill off Alaska. Jerome Socolovsky reports.

Robert talks to Robert Hunter, the U-S ambassador to NATO, about changes to the structure of the organization announced today. In order to respond more effectively to post-cold war instabilities, NATO will move its focus from containing Russian influence to responding to problems within Europe. One new aspect of the plan involves "combined joint task forces" in which two or more NATO countries could form a force using their own troops and borrowing materiel from the U-S. The restructuring gives European nations a higher profile within NATO and in NATO exercises.

- On May 11th, 1946 - 50 years ago today - the first CARE packages were distributed in (Le Havre) France. Daniel talks with three early CARE package recipients. They are Charles and Mathilde (mah-TILD) Middleberg, French Jews who later moved to the United States, and Klaus Putter (POO-ter) who was a teenage German soldier during the war. Early on, CARE packages consisted of surplus U.S. army rations. Then CARE put together boxed containing such items as flour, coffee, meat, and peanut butter.

NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on new recommendations out today regarding vitamin A, iron and other nutrients. The guidelines come from the Institute of Medicine, which is for the first time putting upper limits on how much vitamin A people should consume. Excessive amounts of vitamin A, either through diet or through supplements, may cause liver disease and birth defects. The institute issued new advice about consuming vegetables containing vitamin A and other nutrients.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Paris, where Secretary of State Colin Powell met today with the other five foreign ministers in the so-called Contact Group on the Balkans. {The ministers stressed the large degree of consensus within the Contact Group on the various Balkan issues. With regard to the recent fighting in Macedonia, they strongly supported Macedonia's territorial integrity and condemned violence by ethnic Albanian insurgents. As for Montenegro, which will soon hold a referendum on independence, they expressed support for a democratic Montenegro within the framework of a democratic Yugoslavia.}

Are you noticing higher prices or emptier shelves? Going all-out on decor? Skipping physical gifts? It's a weird year in a weird economy, and we want to hear your story.

NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on today's seizure of a flock of Vermont sheep that some suspect may have been in contact with mad cow disease. The owners of the flock maintain that the sheep do not have the disease and have not been exposed to it. Nevertheless, federal officials arrived at the farm today and removed the sheep. The flock was quarantined in 1998 after being imported from Belgium. Federal offiicials maintain that the sheep ate contaminated feed while there. Since then, the Agriculture Department says tests show four sheep have a form of disease related to mad cow.

Host Lisa Simeone talks with Tom Tucker of Alexandria, Virginia, about the tradition of Shape-Note singing. Tucker is chairman of "The 2001 Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention" taking place this weekend in Virginia. For more information, contact the Folklore Society of Greater Washington (www.fsgw.org or call 1-202-546-2228). Shape-Note singing in the United States dates back to the 1700s, first taking hold in New England and migrating to the South. It is a style of singing designed for people who are not musically trained.

In a high school in Germany, students were preparing to take an exam when something miraculous happened. Teachers were unable to open a safe containing the tests. Firefighters were called to help.

A new exhibit reveals some of more unusual pieces of American history contained in the vaults of the National Archives. Items include Albert Einstein's immigration papers.

We hear excerpts from a speech Coretta Scott King gave in New York City three weeks after the assassination of her husband, Martin Luther King Jr. He was scheduled to address an anti-Vietnam War rally. Speaking from notes found in his pocket after his death, King delivered his messages to the group.

Comets are known as the icy bodies of the solar system. But new analysis of dust brought back by a space probe shows comets are also made up of minerals forged by fire.

A single lot of the pancake mix, which is sold at Walmart, could be contaminated with the foreign material.

We take a moment to remember Maksym Levin, a Ukrainian photojournalist whose body was found north of Kyiv.

Soldiers with the Army's 101st Airborne Division discover what they believe to be an Iraqi storage site for chemical warheads, U.S. commander says. Describing the discovery as a potential "smoking gun," the official says soldiers found in a warehouse outside Baghdad about 20 medium-range rockets with warheads containing sarin and mustard gases. Hear NPR's John Burnett.

A Web site is raising alarm about the chemical compound dihydrogen monoxide. The odorless, colorless substance is abundantly available in liquid, solid and gaseous form. Scientists agree that there is no good way to get rid of it. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with professor Tom Way of Villanova University. He maintains a web site with information for people concerned about the substance.

Day to Day recognizes the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act. David Baker, who captured the sounds of Atlanta's civil rights movement in the early 1960s, shares his memories and audio clips of that historic moment in American history. (NOTE: This segment contains language that may be offensive to some listeners. The word "nigger" is spoken repeatedly in the segment.)

Nine-year-old Jeremiah Longbrake was playing near a stream when he picked up what he thought was a dirty plastic container. It turns out it was mammoth's tooth.

Having worn a mask for so long, some people may have forgotten how to smile. In class they practice moving different face muscles to relearn how to smile without looking too awkward.

Researchers are reporting a spiking number of sea turtle deaths in Florida waters plagued by a red tide algae bloom.

Crews have sealed a giant sinkhole that opened up beneath a fertilizer plant waste pond nearly two years ago sending millions of gallons of polluted...

A bill approved by the Legislature allows utilities to pump treated sewage into Florida’s aquifer system. Most state residents get their drinking water...

The CDC is investigating an outbreak of a stomach bug aboard the Disney Wonder cruise ship last week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

Tobacco commercials were banned in 1971. However, nicotine has found its way back into the marketing game via e-cigarettes. Florida U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson…