April 24, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Duma Approves Kiriyenko -- NPR's Andy Bowers reports from Moscow that Russia has a new Prime Minister. After failing two previous times, 35-year-old Sergei Kiriyenko was approved by the lower house of parliament in a secret ballot today. Russian President Boris Yeltsin used a combination of threats and bribery to bend the Duma to his will. He threatened to dissolve the lower house if it didn't approve Kiriyenko. At the same time, Yeltsin implied he would increase perks for the law makers if they supported Kiriyenko. (4:00)

Ruble Trades in Chicago -- Jody Becker of member station WBEZ in Chicago reports that U.S. investors can now trade in Russian rubles on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The exchange will be the only place outside of Russia where investors will be able to buy futures contracts on the Russian currency. Moscow hopes the move will help stabilize the Russian economy by encouraging more foreign investment. (4:00)

Hurricanes -- NPR's Joe Palca reports on a new study showing how hurricanes destroy buildings and other obstacles. By taking measurements on the ground as a hurricane blows over, University of Oklahoma scientists were able to detect which wind patterns were the most destructive. The findings suggest new ways to design structures to minimize damage from hurricanes. The study appears in the current issue of the journal Science. (4:00)

Yemeni Women -- NPR's Anne Garrels reports on women's right in Yemen. After the unification of the country in 1990, the country adopted a new constitution which feminists consider a model for the Muslim world. But even though they have more formal rights than many other women in Islamic countries, more women in Yemen live in poverty and without education than in neighboring countries. (7:00)

El Niño -- NPR's Carrie Kahn reports that despite the dire predictions, this winter's El Niño storms didn't do the kind of damage that many had expected. While there were losses due to tornadoes, flooding and landslides, they haven't exceeded those of the previous two years. (5:30)

Seed Collector -- All Things Considered host Noah Adams talks to Ed Peterson, a botanist and seed collector, who has noticed that El Niño -- and the resulting rains -- have brought a bumper crop of rare wildflowers out this spring - especially in the desert. (5:00)

Turnip Greens -- Bad airline food makes commentator Scott Brunner dream of his mother's fresh vegetables, which he didn't appreciate as a boy. Now eating out seems dull compared to eating in. (2:00)

'Sliding Doors' -- Bob Mondello reviews the movie "Sliding Doors," starring Gwynneth Paltrow. She plays Helen, a young career woman in London who is coming home on a really bad day and barely makes it onto a subway car as the doors close behind her -- or she misses the train and has to wait for the next one. These two possibilities lead to two different plot lines, both of which are played out during the course of the movie. Bob says that the clever gimmick is handled deftly enough to keep the attention of the audience to the end of the film. (3:45)

'Linda' -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks to Jack Lawrence, composer of the song "Linda." Lawrence owed money to lawyer Lee Eastman, and paid off the debt by writing the song about Eastman's daughter, Linda. Linda Eastman grew up to become a photographer and marry Paul McCartney. She died last week of breast cancer. This item is unavailable due to copyright issues.

Rwanda Executions -- Linda talks to BBC reporter Chris Simpson in Kigali Today, thousands of people witnessed firing squads execute 22 people for their roles in the slaughter of more than 500-thousand people in 1994. Many survivors cheered and clapped. State-run radio reports that in addition to today's executions in the capital Kigali, 18 other convicts were executed in outlying towns. Rwanda's government has no apologies for today's mass execution. A presidential spokesman says it shows you can't kill without consequences. (4:00)

Kosovo -- Noah talks with Tom Walker who is in Pristina, Kosovo about the recent fighting there between the Yugoslav army and ethnic Albanians. About 20 people are reported killed so far. Walker is the Balkans correspondent for the Times of London. (4:00)

NYC Budget Surplus -- NPR's Melissa Block reports that the city of New York expects a two-billion-dollar budget surplus this year...much of it due to the boom on Wall Street. While Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has touted tax cuts, job creation and new sports stadiums, some critics think the mayor should be paying more attention to the city's children, and its future debt. (4:00)

Sea Lions in Trouble -- Paula Dobbyn of member station KTOO in Juneau reports that despite being listed as an endangered species, a group of Alaska's Stellar Sea Lions remain in trouble. The seals' food supply is in decline, but scientists and government officials can't agree on the cause. That means the best measures to protect the food supply may not be in place. (5:00)

'The Tarantula Incident' -- Author Gordon Grice reads an excerpt from his new book The Red Hourglass -- Lives of Predators. The book is a collection of essays on the lives and habits of predatory insects and animals. In this excerpt, he describes how tarantulas hear and how that faculty was once demonstrated to him by his grandmother's encounter with a tarantula. (3:00)

Homeless Victimized in Asbestos Removal -- NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports that three Wisconsin men were charged today with using homeless people to illegally remove asbestos from a building without providing adequate protection. It's the latest in what the Justice Department called a growing number of such violations. Attorney General Janet Reno said warning notices were being sent to homeless shelters around the country urging anyone who suspects that someone is hiring workers to remove asbestos improperly to call a toll-free government number. (2:00)

Jerry Brown Returns -- NPR's Richard Gonzales reports on Jerry Brown's latest political aspirations. The former California governor and presidential candidate is now campaigning to be mayor of Oakland...and judging by the polls, it looks like he just might win. (5:30)

Germany's Green Party -- NPR's Edward Lifson reports from Berlin on Germany's Greens party. Once considered a fringe ecology group, the Greens could be in a position to join a Social Democrat-led coalition government after the September general election. The signal from voters, however, is that to do this the Greens will have to moderate some of their more radical positions -- particularly their call for a huge hike in the gasoline tax. (5:00)

Friday Sports Chat -- Noah Adams speaks with Wall Street Journal sportswriter and ATC regular contributor Stefan Fatsis about running. They talk about the Penn Relays, one of the country's premier track and field events. And they discuss the effort some U.S. race organizers are making to reduce the numbers of elite Kenyan runners who can run in races in this country. Their complaint is the Kenyans are so successful, Americans find it difficult to finish in the money and consequently the races are less attractive to sponsors. (4:15)

Ruckins McKneely Obituary -- Linda talks to aviation historian Carol Osborne about Ruckins McKneely Jr., who died on April 16th. He was Amelia Earhart's mechanic and tended her plane just before she took off on her trip in 1937 when she vanished. (3:45)