June 16, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Yeltsin & Milosevic -- NPR's Anne Garrels reports that after meeting with Russian president Boris Yeltsin today, Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic announced a series of measures he says will help resolve the conflict in Kosovo province. Although Russia appears pleased with the Milosevic announcement, the United States and NATO are not satisfied. They say the Yugoslav leader did not go far enough toward meeting their demands for an end to the crackdown on Kosovo's ethnic Albanian population. (3:45)

KLA & Kosovars -- All Things Considered host Robert Seigel talks with Noel Malcolm, a journalist and historian who has covered the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. They discuss the situation in Kosovo, where Ibrahim Rugova and the Kosovo Liberation Army are both vying for the support of Kosovo's Albanians, and for legitimacy in the political theatre there. Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic said today that he is willing to meet with Rugova, but Milosevic has refused to meet with leaders of the KLA -- which is interested in severing Kosovo's ties to Serbia. Rugova's more moderate stance on connection with Serbia has been losing ground with Kosovars as violence in the region has increased. (Note: Noel Malcolm is the author of Kosovo: A History, published by the New York University Press.) (5:00)

Mega-Merger Mania -- NPR's John Ydstie reports the government's top antitrust enforcers were on Capitol Hill today to tell lawmakers that the current wave of corporate mergers is the most significant since the turn of the century. However, the antitrust regulators also said most of these mergers don't represent any threat to consumers or the economy and that they are prepared to move against all mergers that are anticompetitive. (3:15)

Forest Roads -- NPR'S John Biewen reports on a proposal to put a moratorium on new roadbuilding in the nation's National Forests. The Forest Service doesn't have sufficient funds to maintain the roads that now exist and wants to reevaluate its policy on roads. The timber industry sees the moratorium as part of a process to further reduce the amount of federal forest available for harvest. (6:00)

Growing Grass -- Commentator Bill Harley says that having a perfect lawn is distinctly at odds with having children -- who generally play on the lawn and ruin the grass. (2:00)

Nigeria News -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks with Hilary Anderson of the BBC about the release of 9 political prisoners that was ordered by the new leader of Nigeria, General Abdulsalam Abubakar. Former military ruler Olusegun Obasanjo, journalist Christine Anyanwu and activist Beko Ransome-Kuti are among the prisoners expected to be released tomorrow. (5:00)

Congo -- NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Kinshasa on efforts by the new leadership of the Democratic Republic of Congo to combat endemic corruption. Under the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, the former Zaire earned a reputation as one of the world's most corrupt societies. One year into his rule, President Laurent Kabila has taken some steps against corruption, but some question his methods, and even his motives. For example, the government maintained an official silence on a recent crackdown against alleged corruption in Kabila's cabinet. (7:00)

Bulls Parade -- NPR's Cheryl Corley reports from Chicago on the city's parade for the triumphant Chicago Bulls, who won the annual National Basketball Association championship on Sunday night. Hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets and gathered at a downtown park to celebrate the Bulls's sixth NBA title of the 1990s. Bulls fans now turn their attention to next season, and whether Michael Jordan and the rest of the team will come back for another run at the title. (4:00)

Big Bertha -- Robert talks with Jim Peltz of the Los Angeles Times about a ruling pending before the United States Golf Association that would ban certain types of golf equipment. Specifically, a kind of golf club known as "Big Bertha" -- which is a trademarked kind of club made by the Callaway sports equipment company that has a large club head -- and other clubs like it would be banned from tournament play. A decision on the ban is expected tomorrow. (3:45)

New York & HIV Records -- Public health workers and AIDS activists in New York are embroiled in a debate over whether or not people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus should be reported by name to the state health department. All states keep records of people who have AIDS. Thirty states track HIV infections, but they account for only a fourth of the people with HIV in the United States. California and New York together account for about half of HIV infections. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that without a system in each state that collects the names of HIV infected people, they can't keep track of the epidemic in the United States. NPR's Brenda Wilson reports. (12:00)

Cancer Patients & Medication -- A new study released today shows that 1 out of 4 elderly cancer patients receives no pain medication. The American Medical Association study finds that while the majority of patients experience pain on a daily basis many are not getting the medication they need. The study also found that the older the patients the more vulnerable they are to pain, but that older patients tend to receive fewer and weaker pain killers. NPR's Wendy Schmelzer reports. (4:00)

Doctor & Patient -- Daniel Shapiro tells the story of a recent meeting with his doctor. Shapiro has cancer, and his doctor is very upset by it. So in an extraordinary musing about his doctor's concerns, we see that it is the patient who worries about the doctor. (3:30)

Woodward Can Return -- NPR's Tovia Smith reports that Louise Woodward, a British woman who was formerly an au pair in the United States, can return to England. Woodward had been charged with killing 8 month-old Matthew Eappen. An appeals court today upheld a November decision to reduce Woodward's murder conviction to involuntary manslaughter, and set her free after sentencing her to the 279 days she had already served in jail. Hours after the appellate court's decision, Matthew Eappen's father filed a wrongful death suit against the young woman. (3:30)

Girls Report -- Linda talks with Lynn Phillips, the author of The Girl Report: What We Know and Need to Know About Growing Up Female. The report documents a variety of trends that affect girls nationwide, including violence and sexual abuse statistics. (Note: The Girl Report: What We Know and Need to Know About Growing Up Female is published by the National Council on Research on Women.) (4:30)

Spies on the Roof -- Commentator Robert Girardi was an adult before he found out what his father's job really was. He talks about how mysterious the adult world can seem to a small child. (4:00)

Circus Flora -- The Circus Flora is part of the new generation of one-ring circuses touring the country that's returning to an older, European style circus -- such as the Big Apple and Pickle Family circuses. Circus Flora is a little different from the others in its effort to combine theatre with circus. A narrator talks directly to the audience and weaves a story through the evening's performance. The company is made up of both theatre and circus people, including the famous Flying Wallendas. Jim Dryden reports from St. Louis. (7:30)