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An index of the day's stories: KACZYNSKI PLEA -- Linda speaks with NPR's John McChesney from Sacramento, California, where Theodore Kaczynski is reported to have agreed to plead guilty to charges that he responsible for the UNABOM attacks in exchange for a life sentence without possibility of parole. (5:00) CLINTON STORY -- Robert and Linda talk about the latest developments in the scandal surrounding allegations that President Clinton had an extramarital affair with a White House intern, and the statements made by independent counsel Kenneth Starr about the matter. (2:30) OIC -- Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr today vowed to move quickly and get to the truth in investigating whether President Clinton told a former White House intern to lie about an alleged affair with him. Starr's investigation of the Whitewater land deal has expanded over the years to cover other areas. Under the Independent Counsel law, the Attorney General can decide whether to expand an existing investigation, or hand it over to a new independent counsel. The matter does not have to be related to the issue the counsel is already investigating. NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports. (4:30) WHITE HOUSE TODAY -- Robert talks with NPR's Mara Liasson about reaction today from the White House to allegations that President Clinton engaged in an extramarital affair with a White House intern. (5:00) LETTERS -- Robert and Linda read from listeners' letters. To contact All Things Considered, write to All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington D-C 20001. To contact us via the Internet, the address is A-T-C at N-P-R dot ORG (ATC@NPR.ORG). (3:30) ROE V. WADE SCENE -- Washington was crowded with anti-abortion activists today marching on the Capitol on this 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. There were also demonstrations by supporters of abortion rights, both on the National Mall and at a luncheon sponsored by NARAL at which Vice-President Gore delivered a speech. We'll hear some of the activists singing, talking to one another, and making their stance known. (3:45) ADVANCES IN NEONATOLOGY -- NPR's Patricia Neighmond looks at the advances in neonatology since the Supreme Court's Roe versus Wade decision in 1973. Back then, a fetus at 28 weeks was given even odds of surviving -- now fetuses at 24 weeks or younger can be saved, often without permanent damage. (5:00) MY PATIENTS -- Commentator Marilee Allen is the Chief of Neonatology at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, in Baltimore. She talks about her work with premature infants as part of our series of commentaries surrounding the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision. (3:45) CHANGED LANDSCAPE -- NPR's Lynn Neary reports on how advances in medical technology have affected the ethical debate about abortion. The sonogram has sharpened the image of the fetus, while other developments have increased the chances for even babies born after just 25 weeks of gestation. Self-described pro-choice advocates are forced to confront the fetus, while the so-called pro-life movement is forced to shift from the late-term focus which dominated recent debates. Technology has complicated the ethical arguments about abortion, perhaps more than either side would like to admit. (8:15) JORDAN -- Vernon Jordan tape and copy. NEWSWEEK TAPES -- Linda talks to Newsweek's Michael Isikoff about the 90-minute tape he and his editors listened to, containing telephone conversations between Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp, which were secretly recorded by Tripp. On the tapes, Lewinsky discusses what she says was an affair with the President and her plans to lie about it when testifying under oath. Isikoff says nowhere does she talk about pressure from the President or his aide Vernon Jordan to pressure her to lie. Isikoff says they cannot verify the authenticity of the tape, nor say where it came from. (STATIONS: to read the article mentioned in the interview on the World Wide Web, the address is http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/digest/daily/jan98/21/newsweek.htm) (4:30) STARR -- We hear tape of the raucous news conference held by Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth Starr this morning. (2:00) HIS MANDATE -- Robert talks with Lawrence Walsh, the former independent counsel for the Iran/Contra investigations. He's also the author of "Firewall: The Iran/Contra Conspiracy and Cover-up." (W.W. Norton, 1997.) They discuss the scope of Kenneth Starr's investigation of the President, from his former real estate deals to allegations that he encouraged a White House intern to lie about their relationship. (4:00) KACZYNSKI -- Robert talks with NPR's John McChesney about the trial of Theodore Kaczynski, where he is expected to plead guilty to charges that he carried out the so-called UNABOM attacks in exchange for a life sentence without parole. (3:00) PUBLIC OPINION -- NPR's Melissa Block reports that polls taken within the last day show similar patterns of public opinion. A slight majority of those polled believe the President DID have an affair with Monica Lewinsky. But those polled say that's far less bothersome than the allegations that the Presient lied about the affair under oath, or told Lewinsky to lie under oath. And even if those polled were convinced the President told Lewinsky to lie, a majority did NOT feel he should be impeached. (5:00) ARAFAT -- NPR's Ted Clark reports on Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat's meeting today with President Clinton to try to revive the Middle East peace process. The meeting followed Clinton's apparently-fruitless meetings Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Prospects for real progress in advancing the peace talks now seem slim. (4:00) MICROSOFT -- NPR's Dan Charles reports on the settlement between the U.S. Justice Department and the Microsoft Corporation. The deal worked out today drops a contempt charge against the company -- in exchange for Microsoft's agreement to remove its web-browsing software from Windows 95. (2:30) OTHER STORIES -- Other stories we're following today include: Kaczynski Plea and Clinton Story. (1:00) POPE IN CUBA -- NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that Pope John Paul the Second celebrated his first mass in Cuba today, in the town of Santa Clara. About a hundred thousand people attended the open-air mass. The Pope's homily focused on the family; he reiterated his longstanding opposition to birth control, abortion and divorce. Cuba has a high divorce rate, and abortions nearly equal the number of live births. The Pope also called on the government to end its monopoly on education and permit Catholic schools to operate once more. (5:00) VIRGIN OF CHARITY -- Commentator Andrei Codrescu visits Cuba's most sacred and symbolic Catholic shrine. It's dedicated to the Virgin of Charity, a stature that was found in the sea by sialors who claim it saved thier lives. The Virgin resides in a chapel in far eastern Cuba. On Saturday, it will be taken out of its place of rest and brought to the Pope in a nearby city. Codrescu talks about the meaning of the statue's dual representations, as both mother and warrior. (7:30) NEAR -- An interplanetary spacecraft will be visible with the naked eye this evening. It's the NEAR spacecraft -- NEAR stands for Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous. It was launched in February of 1996, with the mission to take a close look at a series of asteroids whose orbits bring them close to our planet. It will be visible at 1:25 AM Eastern time on the East Coast...12:26 AM Central time in the Midwest...around 11:27 PM in the Mountain time zone... and around 10:40 PM Pacific time for Southern California. (1:00) |
