June 5, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Flight Simulator -- NPR's Mark Roberts reports from Denver on sophisticated flight training programs for pilots without their leaving the ground. In $30 million cockpit simulators, pilots learn to keep their planes in the air through windshear and other potentially frightening mid-air mishaps. (5:45)

New Internet Domains -- NPR's Joe Palca reports on the government's final plan to turn much of the control over the routing and addressing of Internet traffic over to private companies. The plan's been in the works for months, and amounts to a new opportunity for the unseen operators of the Internet to divvy up new business. (2:30)

Friday Sports Talk -- Robert talks with Stephan Fatsis, who writes about sports and sports business for the Wall Street Journal, about baseball. Rupert Murdoch and his Fox media empire seem to be dismantling their newly-acquired Los Angeles Dodgers through big trades such as Mike Piazza, their star catcher -- and Hideo Nomo, a high-profile pitcher who has struggled somewhat this year. Stephan also talks about the man whom he thinks should be the next big star of Major League Baseball. (4:30)

Shirley Povich Dies -- Sportswriter Shirley Povich died yesterday at the age of 92. Povich started writing for the Washington Post in 1922. We'll remember his career and hear an excerpt of an interview that Povich did with NPR's Bob Edwards, in which he talks about Ty Cobb and Pete Rose. (3:00)

Lebed Inauguration -- NPR's Anne Garrels reports on the inauguration of Alexander Lebed as governor of Siberia's vast Krasnoyarsk region. The former paratroop commander hopes to use the governorship as a stepping stone to the Russian presidency. (4:15)

Tutu Testimony -- NPR's Charlayne Hunter-Gault reports from George, South Africa, that Archbishop Desmond Tutu today appealed to former President P.W. Botha to apologize for the suffering caused by apartheid. Tutu was testifying in Botha's contempt trial; the ex-president faces up to two years in prison for ignoring subpoenas to testify before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which Tutu chairs. Allegations have been aired during the trial this week suggesting that Botha ordered political killings and other crimes during his tenure as president in the 1980's. (4:00)

Eritrea Bombing -- Robert talks with Karl Vick, the East Africa correspondent for the Washington Post. They discuss the bombing attacks made by both Ethiopia and Eritrea, just hours after both countries had made positive remarks about a US-Rwandan brokered peace plan for the nations. (4:15)

Summer Reading -- Book reviewer Alan Cheuse has some suggestions for summer reading. We'll hear excerpts of his choices as read by many of the authors. Click here to see the full list. (8:19)

GM Strike -- NPR's Don Gonyea reports from Flint, Michigan, where the United Auto Workers union has called a strike at a key General Motors parts plant. This morning more than 3,000 workers walked out of the facility, which makes fenders, hoods and other parts for many of GM's popular trucks and sport utility vehicles. The union is concerned that GM plans to lay off workers at the plant or close it altogether. Production at several other GM plants could be affected if the work stoppage in Flint lasts more than a few days. (4:00)

Unemployment Report -- NPR's Jim Zarroli reports the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3 percent in May and businesses added nearly 300,000 new jobs to payrolls. The Labor Department's monthly employment report also showed an increase in average hourly earnings. Overall, stocks were mixed, but the Dow jumped more than a hundred points. (3:30)

House Budget Vote -- The House has passed a budget by a vote of 216-204. The package, written chiefly by Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich, had disturbed Republican moderates, who said it was too extreme, and would hurt their reelection chances. Kasich's plan would cut 101 billion dollars worth of spending and reduce taxes by the same amount. The Senate has already passed a less aggressive budget, trimming spending and taxes by 30 billion dollars. NPR's Brian Naylor reports. (4:30)

Oregon Assisted Suicide -- Colin Fogarty from Oregon Public Broadcasting reports on today's announcement from the U.S. Justice Department that the federal government does not have jurisdiction over Oregon's new assisted suicide law. The law, which allows physician assisted suicide, was approved twice by Oregon voters. (3:00)

More Oklahoma City Investigations -- NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports from Oklahoma City that despite the end of the federal government's prosecution of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the investigation into the 1995 Murrah building bombing is still going on. The District Attorney intends to try McVeigh and Nichols on state murder charges. And a grand jury is currently meeting to probe whether there were other, larger, conspiracies involved. (5:00)

Suharto Corruption Allegations -- NPR's Julie McCarthy reports on increasing demands in Indonesia for a public accounting of the vast fortune amassed by former President Suharto and his family. People are demanding to know what the family owns, and how the fortune was built. Suharto and his family are worth billions of dollars, with holdings in industries and development projects throughout the country. He was forced to resign two weeks ago following bloody demonstrations against corruption and the government's resistance to political and economic reform. (6:45)

Alfred Kazin Obituary -- Alfred Kazin died this morning, on what would have been his 83rd birthday. One of the most influential American critics and intellectuals of this century, Kazin had his first book published when he was 27 years old. "On Native Grounds" was a landmark of 20th century American literary criticism. He followed it with three highly-praised autobiographical works that captured the life of the son of poor Eastern European immigrants in New York City (the first was "A Walker in the City"). He went on to become a widely published critic, literary editor of New Republic, and professor at Smith, Amherst, New York University, the University of California at Berkeley, the Hunter College of the City University of New York, and others. NPR's Brooke Gladstone has an appreciation. (5:45)

Summer Movies -- Commentator and film buff Josh Wolk says that summertime -- which is supposed to be the prime time of the year for movie fans -- generally leaves him feeling gypped. It's not just that the movies don't live up to their hype, it's that they're usually uninteresting, too. (3:00)

Diana Documentaries -- Robert talks with Simon Hoggart, the political writer for the Guardian Newspaper in London, England. They discuss two documentaries which recently aired on British television about the conspiracy theories that have sprung up around Princess Diana's death last year. (4:15)