April 3, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Japanese Economy -- All Things Considered host Noah Adams talks with Edward J. Lincoln, a senior fellow of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. They discuss the growing criticism of how the Japanese government is handling the nation's economic troubles. (4:30)

Marshall Plan -- On this date in 1948, President Harry Truman signed the Foreign Assistance Act into law. This act made possible the Marshall Plan, which sent infusions of money and materials into a war-ravaged Europe. We'll hear part of a commencement address given at Harvard by Truman's Secretary of State, George Marshall, which suggested such a plan. (2:00)

J.J. the Whale -- Scott Horsley of member station KPBS in San Diego reports that since her release on Tuesday, the young whale known as J.J. hadn't joined other migrating gray whales. Now she's lost her transmitter, making monitoring her movements much more difficult. (1:30)

Coastal Erosion -- NPR's Richard Gonzales reports on why homes in California continue to be built on unstable ground. Part of the problem is nature -- but there's also a lot of money and politics involved. (6:00)

Former CIA Worker Charged With Spying -- The FBI has arrested a former CIA employee and charged him with giving national secrets to foreign countries, which are not being identified. A federal prosecutor says Douglas Groat also is charged with trying to extort money from the CIA in return for not revealing further secrets. NPR's Martha Raddatz reports. (4:00)

Hoffa Challenger -- NPR's Don Gonyea reports from Detroit on a new entrant in the race for president of the Teamsters union. Ken Hall, a union leader from West Virginia, is challenging James P. Hoffa for the Teamsters leadership. Hall helped lead the union to victory during last year's strike against UPS. He has the backing of ousted Teamsters president Ron Carey, barred from running himself because of a campaign finance scandal. (3:30)

Calif. Union Dues -- NPR's Steven Rosenfeld reports that the battle over a California initiative to limit the use of union dues for political purposes is heating up. The initiative is on the June 2 ballot. (5:00)

Welcome -- Commentator Elissa Ely tells a story about a family that moved into her neighborhood recently. The couple had a baby, and put up a big sign saying "It's A Boy!" The elementary school across the street put up a sign in response, saying "Welcome baby!" (2:30)

'From the Earth to the Moon' -- In the movie "Apollo 13," Tom Hanks portrayed the astronaut in charge of that ill-fated mission. Now Hanks takes the helm as producer, director and writer of "From the Earth to the Moon," a 12-part miniseries telling the story of America's quest to place a man on the moon. Critic Ken Tucker reviews the series. (4:30)

Budget Bill -- President Clinton criticized the Senate's budget resolution today, saying the spending cuts it calls for will hurt children and education. He also urged tobacco companies to accept the national settlement Congress is drafting. NPR's Brian Naylor reports. (3:00)

Congressional Spring Break -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Peter Kenyon and Elizabeth Arnold about what Congress has accomplished so far this year as members head home for the spring recess. (6:30)

NPR Head to Step Down -- Delano Lewis, the president and CEO of National Public Radio, announced today that he will step down from his posts. He'll leave his positions on August 1st of this year. NPR's Brooke Gladstone reports.

Africa Commentaries -- We hear two perspectives on President Clinton's visit to Africa, which he now calls a foreign policy priority. George Ayitteh is a native of Ghana and author of the book Africa in Crisis. He says that the president is mistaken when portraying Africa as making giant strides towards democracy and economic prosperity. Salih Booker is a senior fellow and director of the Africa Studies Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. He says the president's visit shattered Africa's invisibility, and put the recent democratic and economic successes of Africa in the public eye. (7:30)

U.N. Weapons Inspectors -- Noah Adams talks with Charles Duelfer, the deputy executive chair of UNSCOM. They discuss the ongoing inspections of the presidential sites in Iraq. (4:00)

War Crimes Tribunal -- NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that as the United States and other countries negotiate the possible establishment of an International Criminal Court, the experience of the two existing war crimes tribunals is under scrutiny. Their record is mixed. The tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has indicted 74 persons but has fewer than a third in custody. The tribunal investigating war crimes in Rwanda has more indictees in custody, but has faced administrative problems. (4:00)

Sports Doping Trial -- NPR's Edward Lifson reports from Berlin that a trial of coaches and sports physicians on charges of doping female athletes has deepened divisions between eastern and western Germans. The court today refused to throw the case out, as requested by defense attorneys who argued their clients should not be held accountable for actions they took in a country that no longer exists. (4:30)

Sports Chat -- The ever-expanding media empire of Rupert Murdoch is the subject of this Friday's sports chat with Linda and Stephan Fatsis of The Wall Street Journal. Fatsis says Murdoch is obtaining parts of different U.S. sports teams in an attempt to broadcast games worldwide on his vast cable systems. (4:00)

Corrine Sykes Remembered -- NPR's Vertamae Grosvenor recounts the story of Corrine Sykes, a black woman who was executed in 1946 in Pennsylvania's electric chair. Sykes, who worked as a maid, was convicted of murdering the white woman she worked for. The case had a profound impact on the North Philadelphia neighborhood where Grosvenor grew up, amid the facts -- and fiction -- surrounding the Corrine Sykes case. (3:45)