March 10, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Kosovo -- NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Kosovo, where the United States Special Envoy, Robert Gelbard, visited today. Gelbard told both the Serbian government and ethnic Albanians to stop what he called a "worrisome cycle of violence". (4:12)

Albanians -- All Things Considered host Robert Siegel talks with Noel Malcolm, who writes for the Daily Telegraph in London. He has covered the conflict in Bosnia and has a forthcoming book called "Kosovo: A History." They talk about who the Albanians are, and what their stake is in Kosovo -- and why Serbs are so committed to preventing Albanian autonomy in the region. (4:46)

Pinochet -- Marie-Armelle Lafaury reports from Santiago that General Augusto Pinochet retired today as head of the Chilean army. Pinochet was military dictator for seventeen years before turning over power to a democratic government in 1990. Tomorrow he is scheduled to take his seat as a senator-for-life, a position he created for himself while he was in power. (2:52)

Illinois Election -- NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports that many candidates and their political parties are concerned about the growing number of interest groups spending large amounts of money to influence campaigns. We look at how the issue is playing out in Illinois, which holds a primary next week. (7:51)

Weather Woes -- NPR's Cheryl Corley reports from Chicago on the lingering effects of the major snowstorm that's hit parts of the Midwest. Hundreds of repair crews are struggling to restore electricity to the roughly 260,000 customers who lost power in Illinois and Indiana. Also, several major highways in the region are still clogged by stalled vehicles after the storm dumped as much as 18 inches of snow, and 40-mile-per-hour wind gusts piled up drifts. (3:25)

Storm Aftermath -- All Things Considered host Noah Adams talks with Mike Ellingson, the owner of an antique store called Cobweb Secrets, in Fargo, North Dakota. They talk about the sudden drop in temperature after an exceptionally mild winter in the Northern Plains, and how people have been coping with the aftermath of flooding last year. (4:04)

Fruit and Vegetable Vaccines -- NPR's Richard Harris reports on efforts to develop new ways to administer vaccines. Scientists in several labs are engineering new fruits and vegetables with the goal of creating an edible vaccine. (5:15)

Preston Falls -- The second work of fiction by Newsweek magazine writer David Gates is called Preston Falls. Our reviewer, Alan Cheuse, says it's the most gripping account of a family falling apart that he's read since John Updike's Rabbit, Run. (2:16)

Guadalupe-Hidalgo -- NPR's Neal Conan examines the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which ended the war between the United States and Mexico. The treaty made it possible for the U.S. to purchase approximately half of Mexico's territory for 15 million dollars. The land that was acquired covers more than a million square miles -- and today is covered by the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, and portions of Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Texas. Today is the 150th anniversary of Senate ratification of the treaty. (5:04)

McKinney Trial -- A prosecutor summed up the charges against Sergeant Major Gene McKinney today as "an abuse of power." McKinney, formerly the highest ranking enlisted member of the Army, is accused of pressuring six service women for sex. Closing arguments in McKinney's court martial began today, and the jury is expected to begin deliberations tomorrow. Noah talks with NPR's Barbara Bradley, who is attending the trial at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. (4:12)

Hunger -- NPR's Tovia Smith reports on another study that confirms that more people are relying on food pantries and soup kitchens for meals. Second Harvest, the nation's largest hunger-relief organization, said today that their new survey concluded that the majority of those seeking help to get enough to eat live outside big cities, are mostly white, overwhelmingly female, and either very old or very young. (3:33)

Suharto -- NPR's Julie McCarthy talks with Noah about today's re-election of Indonesia's aging President Suharto. His re-election was assured, but a growing rift with the International Monetary Fund threatens the future of Indonesia and that of the Suharto government. The IMF has delayed releasing more emergency loans to bail out the Indonesian economy because of indications that Suharto is unwilling to implement financial reforms. As pressure from the IMF increases, so does economic nationalism in Indonesia. (4:02)

Sierra Leone -- Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, the elected president of the West African nation of Sierra Leone, returned to the capital, Freetown, today. His return follows almost 10 months which he spent in exile after being ousted in a coup. A Nigerian-led ECOMOG force ejected the soldiers who forced him from power in May of last year, paving the way for Kabbah's return. The BBC's Mark Doyle reports. (2:04)

Irish Priest -- In Ireland, an Irish priest has turned his back on the Roman Catholic Church and now practices a religion based on nature that dates back to Ireland's pre-Roman past. He and his followers have gone to the West of Ireland to practice a low-key spirituality that mixes together ancient myths of Ireland, the Christian gospel and lives of Irish saints. Laura Haydon reports from the Isle of Aran off the west coast of Ireland. (5:23)

Iraq Censorship -- NPR's Eric Weiner reports from Baghdad that it's not just food and medicine that are scarce in Iraq these days, but information to nourish the mind. Magazines and newspapers from abroad are either blocked by the U.N. embargo, or banned by the government -- or, when smuggled to the street markets, too expensive for people to afford. The result is that Iraqis are more dependent than ever on Saddam Hussein's propaganda machine for their view of the world. (7:33)

Iraq Opposition -- Ahmed Chalabi, the head of the Iraqi umbrella organization Iraqi National Congress, has been in Washington testifying on Capitol Hill and talking with representatives of the Pentagon, the CIA and the State Department about how he would topple Saddam Hussein. He wants to create a government-in-exile, have Saddam indicted for war crimes, and formulate a policy that openly seeks Saddam's overthrow. (5:06)

Norman Blake -- Noah talks with Norman Blake, who is celebrating his 60th birthday today. He's also celebrating the release of his 26th recording, called "Chattanooga Sugar Babe". He plays all the instruments on the CD: guitar, banjo, fiddle, Hawaiian steel guitar. Blake was born in Tennessee and raised in neighboring Georgia, and the music he heard as a child on 78s and the live radio broadcasts of that era shaped his tastes for all time. He remains dedicated to old ways, and old music and poetry. The songs he writes today come across as authentic traditional compositions from decades ago. (8:00)