July 14, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Funeral Service -- We'll hear an excerpt from the comments of the Most Reverend Patrick Walsh, the Bishop of Down and Connor, at the funeral of the Quinn children today. (1:30)

Russian Economy -- All Things Considered host Robert Siegel talks with Anders Aslund, who co-directs the Carnegie Moscow Project on Economies of the Post-Soviet States. They discuss the problems the Russian government is having collecting taxes, where many citizens keep their households economically afloat through use of the underground bartering system -- and many big companies simply refuse to pay taxes at all. (5:45)

Texas Heat -- NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports Dallas-area residents are suffering through another summer heat wave. The thermometer has topped one hundred degrees for 8 straight days. On Sunday, the mercury hit 110 in Dallas and 112 in Fort Worth. At least seven people have died from heat-related causes since the weekend. (3:45)

Studying Studies -- NPR's Joe Palca reports on an ongoing debate withing the biomedical research community: should authors of scientific papers be required to disclose any financial relationships they may have in a drug or product they are studying to the journal which is publishing their results. A new article in the Journal of the American Medical Association says yes, but others disagree. (3:45)

Arts Funding -- While the battles in Washington over federal funding of the arts get quite a bit of media coverage, states and cities are coming to terms with a new funding environment while their efforts tend to go unsung. The cuts in federal funding have put extra pressure on local arts agencies. They've been able to cope thanks to a booming economy and Seattle, Washington, is doing better than many cities. But like many cities, Seattle is spending much of its arts money on buildings -- not art to put in them. Marcie Sillman, of member station KUOW, reports. (9:15)

NEA Commentary -- Storyteller Kevin Kling muses on the arts and the role of the National Endowment for the Arts in relation to the federal government. (3:15)

Asian Eels -- NPR's John Nielsen reports on a new scourge in southeastern U.S. waters -- an asian eel. No one knows how it was introduced, though someone's aquarium is a likely source. Now it's here, the eels are reproducing at a pace that's fast and furious. It's hard to catch, eats juvenile fish, and can even breathe air, which allows it to squirm out of dried up ponds and move into better neighborhoods. (4:00)

Gator Farm -- Robert talks with Kevin Foster, who has just sold Florida's largest alligator farm. Foster inherited the farm from his father, but he decided to get out of the business. He fondly remembers what it's like to run such a business. (4:00)

GM Earnings Report -- NPR's Don Gonyea reports from Detroit that General Motors asked a federal court to force the United Auto Workers union into arbitration to determine if two strikes against GM in Flint, Michigan are legal. The auto maker also announced today that its earnings in the second quarter plunged 81 percent from a year ago because of the strikes. Bargaining between GM and the UAW is proceeding slowly, and no settlement is yet in sight. (4:00)

China Satellites -- Senate Majority leader Trent Lott said today that a Senate investigation into US satellite exports has determined that China received military benefits and sensitive technology from the practice. Lott said new information had come to light that "should remove all resistance to naming an independent counsel" to look into China's efforts to influence the American political process. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports. (3:30)

'Spam' Overload -- NPR's Larry Abramson reports from Washington on a Federal Trade Commission study released today about "spam" -- computer-user slang for unsolicited E-mail. The agency has collected tens of thousands of messages in an effort to determine spamming practices and to develop a way for recipients to more easily deal with unwanted e-mail. (4:30)

Chicago Trial -- Jackie Northam of member station WBEZ in Chicago reports on the imminent trial of three white teenagers charged with attempted murder and hate crimes for the racially-motivated beating of an African-American teen last year. 13-year-old Lenard Clark was beaten so badly he slipped into a coma. His slow recovery has been followed by the national media. Prosecutors say they have a strong case despite the murder of one witness, and the disappearance of another. Community activists say the prosecution's problems could mean that the perpetrators of this crime could escape punishment. (3:30)

Apartheid Obituary -- Noah talks with Allister Sparks, a veteran South African journalist and the editor of the South African Broadcasting Corporations's television news programs. They talk about the death of notorious South African torturer Brigadier Theuns Swanepoel. Swanepoel was the chief interrogator of the South African security police, who ordered troops to fire on Soweto schoolchildren in 1976. (4:00)

Transporting Nukes -- NPR's Richard Gonzales reports on plans to ship spent nuclear fuel rods along an historically troublesome stretch of rail in the mountains of California. Local officials are opposing the plan, but Federal officials and Union Pacific says they can assure safe transport of the material. (6:30)

Calendar Reform -- Robert talks with David Duncan Ewing, author of "Calendar: Humanity's Epic Struggle to Determine a True and Accurate Year." Duncan explains the difficult transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. It took several centuries after the Vatican decreed the use of a new calendar before the rest of non-Catholic Europe followed suit. Note: Calendar is published by Bard Books. (5:30)

Flag Restoration -- Noah talks with Suzanne Thomasen-Krauss, a textile conservator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. They discuss plans to restore the flag that once flew over Fort McHenry in the Harbor of Baltimore and was the inspiration for "The Star-Spangled Banner," written by Francis Scott Key. (7:30)