May 19, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Tobacco Lobby -- NPR's Peter Overby reports from Washington on the escalating lobbying effort as the Senate debates tobacco legislation. With public health issues and potentially billions of dollars in sales and taxes at stake, anti-smoking forces and industry lobbyists have notched up their efforts -- holding news conferences, airing television commercials and operating sophisticated phone banks -- to generate public support for their respective goals. (5:00)

Lumpectomy Study -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks with Dr. Monica Morrow, a professor of surgery and the director of the Lynn Sage Breast Program at the Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago. Dr. Morrow was the lead scientist on a study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which showed that almost half the women diagnosed with breast cancer each year would be good candidates for a treatment known as lumpectomy -- in which the actual site of the cancer is removed -- rather than mastectomy, in which the entire breast is removed. The study indicates that thousands of women who are having mastectomies could undergo the far less-drastic lumpectomy procedure. But many women are opting for mastectomy anyway -- even though lumpectomies in connection with radiation therapy appear to be equally effective at getting rid of the cancer. (4:00)

Immigrant Rights -- Two federal appeals courts have restored legal rights to immigrants who face deportation. One has ruled that immigrants found to have committed a crime can not be deported without a federal court hearing. Another has ruled that the Immigration and Naturalization Service can not deport immigrants after they sign a waiver they don't understand. NPR's Barbara Bradley reports. (3:30)

Olu Dara -- Singer and composer Olu Dara has worked with Art Blakey and recorded with many jazz avant-garde greats. Music reviewer Tom Moon says that Dara presents himself as a modern synthesizer of jazz, creole, and other traditions. (Note: The CD is called "In the World: From Natchez to New York" by Olu Dara. It's available on Atlantic Records.) (4:18)

Liberal Arts -- NPR's Adam Hochberg reports that college graduates with liberal arts degrees are having an easier time finding jobs this year. For the most part, liberal arts grads don't command the same kinds of salaries their classmates in engineering and computer science do. But many are finding good jobs on Wall Street and in corporate America. And a shortage of computer programmers means that companies are hiring music, history, and sociology majors and training them in computer skills. (6:00)

Paying for College -- Even though high school seniors have already had to select which college they'll be attending in the fall, parents are still worried about how to pay for college. Most students have to juggle loans, scholarships and bank accounts to cobble together enough to cover the high cost of higher education. WBUR's Steve Tripoli reports. (6:00)

Windows 98 -- Yesterday, the Justice Department and several states filed suit against Microsoft, claiming their new Windows 98 would tighten the company's monopoly hold on the computer industry. NPR's John McChesney takes Linda on a tour of Windows 98, pointing out the highlights of this new software and how it differs from Windows 95. (5:00)

Houses on the Web -- Commentator David Weinberger explains how the World Wide Web is going to change our relationship to our homes. Appliances can be connected to the Web and we can be connected to them, no matter where we are. The technology exists for us to hook into our homes through Web pages which will give us read-outs on the well-being of our things and permit us to control them from remote locations. In this way, our homes will be given "small voices," Weinberger says. (3:00)

Suharto Today -- NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that Indonesia's President Suharto has responded to increasing pressure to step down by saying that he will leave office, but only after he oversees a process of political reform. The aging president also has promised new elections, and says he will not be a candidate. But angry protesters, led by students, say they want Suharto to resign now, and more demonstrations are planned for tomorrow, the anniversary of Indonesia's independence movement. (5:00)

U.S.-Indonesia Policy -- NPR's Ted Clark reports that the United States is taking a very cautious position regarding the upheaval in Indonesia and President Suharto's pledge to step down. The U.S. has welcomed Suharto's promise of political reform, saying it is long overdue. But Washington has stopped short of publicly calling for a change of leadership, possibly remembering the backlash when the U.S. encouraged Indonesia's then-President Sukarno to give up power. (4:00)

IMF-Indonesia -- NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports that the International Monetary Fund's actions in Indonesia are being called into question. Critics say the IMF aggravated an already tense situation by insisting on drastic price hikes for some basic commodities. IMF officials counter that it was Suharto's decision to impose price hikes all at once and that it's unfair to hold them responsible. (3:00)

Lake Davis -- Jason Beaubien of member station KQED in San Francisco reports on the mess created at Lake Davis in northern California. Last year, the state filled the lake with a poison designed to kill off non-native fish that were threatening to outcompete native trout. Now the lake is poisoned with toxic residue, a water crisis is looming, the community is furious and state officials are trying to defend the move. (5:00)

Other People's Homes -- Commentator Marion Winik finds that she feels much happier in other people's houses -- the homes of her friends and family. She can relax on the couch, even help with the dishes - but she knows that the phone is never for her and there are no bills waiting to be paid. (2:45)

Ireland History -- All Things Considered host Noah Adams is in Ireland, preceding the referendum on the Good Friday peace agreement. Tonight, he looks back at the history of the Catholic-Protestant conflict in Ireland. The seeds of Northern Ireland's modern "troubles" were sown centuries ago. (12:30)

USS Yorktown -- The wreckage of the USS Yorktown has been discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. The ship sank in the battle of Midway in June of 1942. Linda talks with the leader of the expedition searching for the USS Yorktown, Dr. Robert Ballard -- the man who also discovered the wreckage of the Titanic. Dr. Ballard joined us from the site where the ship was found by the National Geographic Midway expedition in conjunction with the U.S. Navy -- at sea, aboard the Laney Chouest, some 200 miles northeast of Midway Island. (Note: To follow the Yorktown expedition online, go to www.nationalgeographic.com.) (5:00)

Kubla Khan -- We'll hear a portion of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem Kubla Khan, written 200 years ago, in 1798. The excerpt is read by actor Ben Kingsley. (Note: The CD "Images from Kubla Khan" is available from OneMusic/Honest Entertainment.) (2:31)