February 4, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

The Campaign Finance Debate -- One idea in the debate over campaign finance reform is for candidates to release a full, immediate disclosure of finances. This would eliminate the need for donation limits and spending caps -- and would let citizens see a full accounting of politically-oriented funds. Commentator David Shenk says this sounds like a good idea -- but it has its flaws. (3:00)

Ronald Regan Airport? -- Both the House and Senate have passed a bill to rename Washington National Airport in honor of former President Ronald Reagan. Republicans say that renaming the airport is a fitting tribute for Reagan's 87th birthday on Friday. But some Democrats argued against the measure. NPR's Brian Naylor reports. (3:30)

Silver Prices Soar -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks with George Gero, senior vice-president of investments at Prudential Securities. They discuss the history of the silver market, its ups and downs, and what financier Warren Buffett's recent acquisition of approximately 20 percent of the world's annual supply of silver could mean for the industry. (4:00)

Indonesia’s Financial Crisis -- NPR's Mary Kay Magistad reports that the president of the World Bank was in Jakarta today to assess conditions resulting from Indonesia's currency and stock market turmoil. James Wolfensohn said his organization will meet in Jakarta next week to establish a fund to alleviate shortages of food, drugs and other medical supplies. Prices have risen substantially over the past few weeks as the Indonesian currency has lost value, provoking looting and small riots in some areas. (4:00)

Cable Car Accident -- NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports on the Italian outcry after a U.S. Marine Corps jet on a training flight severed a cable at an Italian ski resort, killing 20 people in a cablecar. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prody blamed the disaster on "tragic recklessness" and the defense minister called on the US pilot to be tried in criminal court. Others called for a reassessment of the value of U.S. military bases in Italy. (3:00)

Training Flights Suspended -- NPR's Martha Raddatz reports that the Pentagon has ordered a suspension of all "low level" training flights over Italy as an investigation was launched into the aerial catastrophe that killed 20 skiers when a US plane severed a cable and their cablecar fell to the ground. The investigators will seek establish what the pilots culpability was, and whether daredevil pilots were flouting the rules by flying too close to the ground on training missions. (4:00)

Labeling Micro-Brews -- Frank Morris of member station KCUR in Kansas City reports on a beer labeling law in Missouri that would require labels to clearly state where a beer comes from. Supporters say the law would unmask many specialty micro-breweries whose beer is actually brewed by giant corporations like Miller or Coors. Critics counter that the law is really an effort by Missouri's Anheuser-Busch brewery to hurt the competition. (5:00)

Fossilized Embryos Found -- Scientists studying a rock formation in Southern China have discovered what appear to be fossilized embryos dating back about 570 million years. Paleontologists call the fossils the first direct evidence that complex animal life existed that long ago. The discovery opens a window on a period of evolution that many scientists had thought was closed. NPR's David Baron reports. (4:00)

Girl Power Now -- Youth Radio's Anita Johnson reports on the popularity of the British pop group The Spice Girls amongst younger audiences. She says that the band's catchphrase -- "Girl Power" -- apparently means different things to different people, but in the final analysis, the young women in the group are redefining popular music and music marketing strategies. (4:00)

Iraq Standoff -- The Clinton Administration today said news that Saddam Hussein has agreed to open eight of his palaces for limited inspection did not go far enough toward the United Nations demand for unlimited access by UN arms inspectors. The fact that Russian and French mediation efforts apparently induced the Iraqi leader to qualify his ban on palace inspections is being taken as a sign that the threat of Allied bombing was having an effect on the situation. NPR's Ted Clark reports. (3:30)

The Arab Media -- Noah talks with Mohamed Sid-Ahmed, who is a columnist for the Al Ahram newspaper in Cairo. They discuss the talks between Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and President Clinton on the Iraqi crisis. They also discuss the talks between Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Egyptian leaders on the same subject. American analysts say that they detect a softening of Arab leaders' positions on using force in dealing with Iraqi noncompliance with the United Nations' weapons inspections directives. The Egyptian media has a different spin. (4:00)

Israel’s Defenses -- Linda talks with Ze'ev Schiff, defense editor for the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, about the preparations that Israelis are making to defend themselves if Iraq attacks the country. Patriot missiles are being set up in the southern Negev desert, to protect against possible Iraqi air strikes on Isreal's nuclear reactor. Schiff also describes an advance defense system that Israel hopes will be ready by 1999. (4:00)

Kenneth Starr and the Secret Service -- NPR's Nina Totenberg reports that Whitewater independent prosecutor Kenneth Starr is unlikely to subpoena Secret Service agents in his investigation into allegations that President Clinton lied about an affair with a White House intern. Such a subpoena would lead to a legal battle over what information about the President's activities agents would be required to reveal, and would be unlikely to turn up information Starr couldn't find elsewhere. (4:00)

Tale of Two Scandals -- NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that yesterday's arrest of Clinton fundraiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie may shift the public's focus away from sex scandals and toward political corruption. Trie's arrest marks the first in the Justice Department's campaign funding investigation and should inspire sweeping campaign finance reform. (3:30)

McKinney Enters Plea -- The court martial of former Sergeant Major of the Army Gene McKinney opens today at Fort Belvoir, in a Virginia suburb of Washington. Command Sergeant McKinney is accused of sexual misconduct toward five enlisted women and one officer. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The military trial was due to start yesterday, but was delayed so defense attorneys had more time to examine material they were given on Friday concerning a key witness. NPR's Barbara Bradley reports. (3:30)

Sanchez and Dornan -- A House panel said today that Democrat Loretta Sanchez did win her Orange County, California seat from long-time Republican Congressman Bob Dornan in 1996. Dornan had charged that Sanchez won the narrow vote because of widespread voter fraud by illegal immigrants. The panel said it did find evidence of voter fraud in the district, but not enough to change the outcome of the election. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports. (3:00)

Faster Computer Chips -- NPR's John McChesney reports that IBM says it has tested a new computer chip that can run at three times the speed of the fastest chips available today. The IBM announcement follows one on Monday from Digital that it, too, is working on a 1000 megahertz chip. Both companies say they will have the chips on the market in the next few years. (3:00)

Weather Woes -- NPR's Adam Hochberg reports that winter storms are battering large parts of the country for a second day. On the East Coast, advisories warning of high winds and heavy surf have been posted from Florida to New Jersey. In Tennessee, some 300 people have been stranded on an interstate highway by heavy snow. The military has been called in to help transport stranded motorists to nearby shelters. In Kentucky, a foot of heavy wet snow has snapped tree limbs and brought down power lines. Several counties in the eastern part of the state have declared states of emergency. And in California, driving rain and high winds have sent rivers over their banks, knocked out power and flooded city streets throughout the state. (3:00)

Gazelle of Israel -- A visit to Israel causes commentator Reynolds Price to remember a battle fought long ago. (3:30)

Pooh News -- There is a movement in the British Parliament to retrieve the original stuffed animals that inspired the "Winnie-the-Pooh" stories by British author A.A. Milne. The five toys -- Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Kanga, Eeyore, and Piglet -- have been on display in the New York Public Library since 1987. A British member of Parliament has begun a campaign to bring them back to England, saying they're part of British heritage. Noah talks with Christopher Francischellio, a former president of the Dutton Publishing Group. Dutton published the first edition of the well-loved books in 1926, and the president of the company at the time donated the toys to the New York Library. (4:00)