February 25, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

IN BAGHDAD -- NPR's Eric Weiner talks with Noah about the triumphant mood in Baghdad following the new agreement on arms inspections signed with U-N Secretary-General Kofi Annan. While President Clinton called it a victory for U-S diplomacy backed by threat of arms, the Iraqis have called it a victory for their efforts to get the hated international sanctions and arms inspections requirements changed. Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, the chief Iraqi negotiator, today said that the excuse for US military intervention had now been lifted, and the U-S and Britain should withdraw their built-up forces in the Persian Gulf. (3:00)

DIPLOMACY -- Robert talks with Fareed Zakaria, the managing editor for the journal Foreign Affairs. They discuss the role of diplomacy in modern geopolitics, and how diplomacy was used in the crisis over U-N weapons inspections in Iraq. Zakaria notes that U-N Secretary-General Kofi Annan portrayed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein as someone he "could do business with," in contrast to the way Hussein had been depicted by those pushing for military strikes against Iraq. (4:30)

MID-SIZE CITY CRIME -- NPR's Cheryl Corley reports from Louisville, Kentucky, on the troubling rise in murders experienced by mid-size cities around the nation. As bigger cities have succeeded recently in driving away drug dealers and gangs, the criminals have moved to smaller and less-crime-savvy cities like Louisville. This trend has forced city officials and residents to take action. (8:00)

LOTT -- Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott denounced the U-N weapons inspections settlement with Iraq today, saying it represented a cave-in to Saddam Hussein. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports that Lott portrayed the deal as an abdication of U-S power to the United Nations. (2:30)

PAXON -- Republican Congressman Bill Paxon of New York announced today that he will retire from Congress. Paxon was forced out of the GOP House leadership after he apparently plotted with party rebels to remove Speaker Newt Gingrich from office, and take his place. Paxon had been openly considering challenging Majority Leader Dick Armey for his leadership job. But now Paxon has decided to leave the House at the end of this year, saying he wants more time with his family and will never run for public office again. Paxon is married to former Congresswoman Susan Molinari and they have a 2-year-old daughter. NPR's Brian Naylor reports. (4:30)

HARLEY PLANT -- NPR's Laura Ziegler reports from Kansas City, Missouri, where motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson is implementing a new management style at its brand new plant there. Decisions at the plant are made by all employees, not just the bosses. Workers are recruited from all walks of life, not just for their skills but for their love of Harleys as well. (5:30)

ACCUTANE WARNING -- Pharmaceutical giant Hoffmann-La Roche said today that it had received reports of depression and suicide in teen-agers taking Accutane, its prescription product for severe acne. Hoffmann-LaRoche said there is no evidence that the drug actually causes depression or suicide, but the company has decided to strengthen its warning to doctors which already appears on the label of the product, so that physicians can be more alert to the possibility of the emergence of these symptoms. NPR's Patricia Neighmond reports. (2:30)

IVA BITTOVA -- Music critic Tom Manoff reviews the Czech avant-garde singer, Iva Bittova (EE-va BEE-toh-vuh). Her father was a gypsy musician and she blends this influence with contemporary European classical music. (ATTENTION STATIONS: The cd is called "Iva Bittova" and is available on Nonesuch Records.) (3:30) ((STEREO))

CLINTON IN FL -- NPR's Adam Hochberg reports that President Clinton toured tornado-ravaged areas of central Florida today. Mr. Clinton surveyed the damage from a helicopter and then visited with victims at a mobile home park near Kissimmee (kih-SIMM-ee). The President offered words of comfort to those who lost their homes, saying he would do everything in his power to help them rebuild their lives. The tornadoes that swept through the Orlando area Sunday night and Monday morning killed at least 38 people and injured more than 260. Four people are still missing. (4:30)

CA WX -- NPR's Renee Montagne reports on damage and clean-up efforts in California following the latest El Nino-driven storms. Residents of hillside and coastal areas of the state are bracing for another wave of storms expected to hit within days. (3:30)

SF TOURISM -- Reporter Ancel Martinez from member station KQED in San Francisco reports that the wind and rain beating northern California in recent weeks has hurt some of the area's most popular tourism attractions -- but also helped some retailers as tourists take shelter to avoid the rain. (3:30)

OTHER STORIES -- Other stories we're following today include: UN, In Baghdad, Paxon and Accutane Warning. (1:00)

PENTAGON COMPUTER -- Pentagon officials said today they are working with the FBI to investigate intense efforts by hackers to break into Pentagon computers in the last two weeks. Pentagon officials said the hackers successfully penetrated non-classified files, but not classified ones. NPR's Martha Raddatz reports. (4:00)

HI TECH WORKERS -- NPR's John Ydstie reports that high-tech companies took their concerns to Capitol Hill today. Industry executives are worried that a shortage of high-skilled workers will hurt their industry and the U.S. economy. They are asking Congress to loosen immigrations caps so they can hire more foreign workers. The Clinton Administration hasn't yet reached a decision on the matter. (4:00)

CREDIT UNIONS -- NPR's Jim Zarroli reports the banking industry won a major victory in the Supreme Court today. In a 5-4 decision, the court decided that federally chartered credit unions can accept members from only one company or group. For years credit unions have expanded by accepting members from multiple companies and groups. A spokesman for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions says the industry will now turn to Congress for protection. (4:00)

STARR WARS -- NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that with the Iraq standoff de-fused, Washington can turn back to focusing on scandal. And while the President continues to deflect allegations, the Independent Council researches the conditions under which a sitting President can be indicted. (3:30)

DEEP VOICES I -- The tremendous success of "The Three Tenors" -- Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, and Jose Carreras -- has overshadowed the work of lower-register singers in recent years. Robert talks with Samuel Ramey, a bass singer with the Washington Opera. Ramey is said to be the most widely recorded bass in history....having sung with the New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, and La Scala in Italy, among other places. With his booming deep voice, he's been especially successful in singing the ultimate deep-voice operatic role...Satan. He's performing several arias from his devilish roles in Washington in a program called "A Date With the Devil." (5:30)

DEEP VOICES II -- Robert continues to talk about the operatic roles available to bass and baritone singers with Dmitri Hvorostovsky (hvohr-oh-STAWF-skee), an up-and-coming baritone who has worked with the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Teatro Colon (tay-AHT-roh coh-LOHN), and the Royal Opera House. He talks about his training in both Russian opera and bel canto (bell KAN-toh) styles, and the roles that baritones and other deep-register singers always seem to have to play. Now that he is an established singer, he's able to pick and choose the songs he prefers for his recitals. (ATTENTION STATIONS: Dmitri Hvorostovsky has a self-titled CD of opera songs, available on Philips Records.) (8:00) ((STEREO))