June 11, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Kosovo Liberation Army -- NPR's Edward Lifson reports from the Northern Albanian village of Bajram Curri on the training and equipping of Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas. Weapons are being stockpiled at the family farm of former Albanian president Sali Berisha. (4:15)

Doomsday Clock -- Jackie Northam of member station WBEZ in Chicago reports that the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists today reset its "Doomsday Clock" to symbolize the greater threat of nuclear war now that Pakistan and India have openly tested nuclear weapons. The symbolic clock will now show the time of nine minutes to midnight, with midnight representing nuclear destruction of the world. (3:00)

Woodham Trial Update -- Melanie Peeples reports that the prosecution closed out its case today in the trial of 17-year-old Luke Woodham. Woodham is charged with killing 2 students and wounding 7 others during a shooting spree at Pearl High School in Pearl, Mississippi last October. Woodham, who had shown no emotion during the first day of testimony, broke into sobs and wailed when prosecutors played a videotape of his confession. The tape showed Woodham confessing to killing his former girlfriend, Christina Menefee, and another girl, Lydia Dew. Woodham also detailed his actions leading up to the shooting. (2:30)

Grain Elevator Disaster -- All Things Considered host Robert Siegel talks with Molly McMillin, a reporter for the Wichita Eagle newspaper. They discuss the rescue effort for the last missing worker at the DeBruce Grain elevator, where highly combustible grain dust exploded on Monday. Five bodies have been recovered, but one man has been left unaccounted-for. McMillin talks about how the explosion happened, and how grain elevators work. (5:00)

Clinton to China -- President Clinton today responded to angry criticism of his coming trip to China. In a speech, he said that isolating the huge Communist nation would make the world more dangerous and set back the cause of democracy and human rights. He will be the first American president to go to China since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre of pro-democracy advocates. NPR's Mara Liasson reports. (4:30)

Elderly in China -- NPR's Mary Kay Magistad reports on the challenges facing China as the population ages. In the next 30 years, one in five Chinese will be senior citizens. But as traditional family and care giving structures break down and change, the means for taking care of the elderly have been left in doubt. (7:30)

Codrescu on Heat -- Commentator Andrei Codrescu talks about the heat that has hit New Orleans -- he says he's thinking of opening a school to teach sweat management. He says that the nuclear tests in India and Pakistan are a reflection of the madness that occurs in hot places. (2:30)

Mark McGwire -- Jim Dryden reports from St. Louis on the high expectations that burden Cardinals ace first baseman Mark McGwire. In his first full season with the Cardinals, McGwire has already hit 30 home runs -- a pace that would have him breaking Roger Maris's record of 61 homers in one season. Fans are ecstatic, but McGwire is uncomfortable with all the attention. (5:30)

Mitsubishi Settlement -- NPR's Cheryl Corley reports on the largest settlement of a sexual harassment case in US history. Car maker Mitsubishi of America has agreed to pay 34 million dollars to settle the lawsuit brought on behalf of some 300 female employees at its Illinois factory. The women had complained that Mitsubishi tolerated pervasive and routine sexual harassment at the plant. The settlement is subject to federal court approval. (3:30)

Tobacco Bill -- NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Capitol Hill on efforts in the Senate to further amend the tobacco bill. Republicans managed late Wednesday evening to adopt an amendment slightly easing taxes on some married couples. Senators still face amendments concerning price supports for tobacco farmers, liability of cigarette manufacturers and possible support for communities with long-standing dependence on tobacco income. (3:30)

Bankruptcy Bill -- Robert talks with Matthew Tully, a reporter for the Congressional Quarterly Daily Monitor. They discuss the bill passed by the House yesterday that would change the law concerning bankruptcies. Once the bill is enacted, it will become much more difficult for some people to simply walk away from their debts. (4:30)

Age Bias -- Age discrimination charges now make up 20 percent of the complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, one more sign that age-related issues are a growing concern in the workplace. NPR's David Molpus reports that many companies are searching for ways to increase awareness of the problem. In this piece, David profiles a drama-based program the Bayer Corporation uses to help employees manage age-related conflict at work. (8:00)

Buying Cable Boxes -- The Federal Trade Commission adopted rules today to let customers buy their cable television boxes, just as they now buy telephones. The commission intends to help consumers save money by not having to rent the box each month from the cable company. Everyone who buys cable service would get a special security card from their cable company to allow the box to work. The rules take effect in July 2000. NPR's Barbara Bradley reports. (3:15)

New California Media -- California will soon be a state where no single racial or ethnic group is dominant. That diversity is being reflecting increasingly in the media--where regional ethnic newspapers and broadcast outlets are gaining both audiences and influence. NPR's Richard Gonzales reports. (5:30)

ATC Mailbag -- Robert reads from listeners' comments. To contact All Things Considered, write to All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. To contact us via the Internet, the address is atc@npr.org. (3:45)

Temperature on the Sun -- One of the great mysteries of astronomy has to do with the temperature of the sun. The surface of the star is actually much cooler than its surrounding plasma field. A new study has now come up with an explanation for why this is so. We'll hear from Loren Acton, a research professor of physics at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana about why the sun is not so hot after all. (3:00)

ATC Satire -- Satirist Harry Shearer plays all the parts in a piece spoofing public radio. It highlights last week's announcement by Japanese scientists that the subatomic particle, the neutrino, has mass, which reverses accepted theory. He has a reporter speak to a spokesman for the fictional "Neutrino Foundation," who says this is good news for the little particle, which had a hard time p.r.-wise until now. (4:15)