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An index of the day's stories: HEAT & POLLUTION -- Around the country, a heat wave has people suffering under oppressive temperatures. NPR's John Nielsen says that the weather is also compounding air pollution problems. Environmentalists and EPA officials point to those pollution problems as a sign of what's to come if global warming brings higher temperatures on a regular basis. (4:00) POWER GRIDS -- Yesterday, New Englanders set a record for utilities usage, according to ISO New England, which oversees the generation and transmission of electricity in a six-state region. Utilities experiencing unusual demand for power have always been able to purchase excess power generated by neighboring utility companies. But now power companies are buying on the deregulated wholesale electricity market from anywhere in the country where excess power exists. NPR's Ivan Amato explains the technology that makes such an open market possible. (4:00) PAPUA NEW GUINEA -- Linda talks with John Raedler, who is covering the ongoing relief effort for the victims of a devastating tsunami that struck the northern coast of Papua New Guinea for CNN. There are grave concerns about the outbreak of disease in the area, and relief workers are still trying to find survivors, bury the dead, and establish shelter areas for the thousands who have been left homeless. Survivors may in fact be evacuated from the area because of the large numbers of corpses that are strewn around many small villages. Raedler talks about the disaster site...which is being called "the big sewer" by residents and relief workers...and about the last three days at the site, where survivors are mourning the "lost generation" of children who died in the catastrophe. (3:30) KOSOVO -- Noah talks with R. Jeffrey Smith, the Southern Europe Bureau Chief for the Washington Post. They talk about the situation in Kosovo, where Smith has been reporting on the struggle for control between the Serbian military and the Kosovo Liberation Army. He says that he's seen the destruction of many cities in the region and the flight of refugees. (4:30) WAR CRIMES -- Commentator Iain Guest says that America's allies will only be alienated by continuing US opposition to the international criminal court established by international treaty last week in Rome. Guest says other countries' tried to allay US concerns during the conference, and they do not want the resulting treaty to be "held hostage to the angry isolationism of Senator Jesse Helms." (3:00) GREAT PLAINS FARM LOSSES -- Mark Steil of Minnesota Public Radio reports that bumper crops and low prices account for a big increase in the number of small farmers giving up their profession. Throughout the Plains states, family farmers are looking at their crops and at prices and realizing there's no way for them to make a profit. (3:30) INDIANA LUMBERYARD -- Noah talks with Milton Cole, the owner of Cole Hardwood. Cole decided to rebuild his businesses after a devastating fire, even though it would be more financially lucrative for him to simply collect the insurance money and retire. They discuss why Cole made the choice, and how he plans to get his businesses back up and running. (3:00) SAVING PRIVATE RYAN -- In a summer where every movie seems to boast multiple demolitions crews, Bob Mondello says the only explosions he believed are the ones in Saving Private Ryan. Starring Tom Hanks, and made by Steven Spielberg, the film is as harrowing a portrait of combat as has ever been put on film...for about 24 minutes. He says the remainder of the film is fairly conventional, but all in all, it's not a bad movie. (4:00) COVERING D-DAY -- Commentator Robert Trout recalls how he and his colleagues at CBS radio covered the Allied invasion of Europe. At the time, no one really knew how to cover a war on the radio...and during the early hours of the invasion, as information was trickling out of Europe, the correspondents were desperate to simply fill air time. Trout says it was an amazing experience made all the more remarkable by the fact that all of the reporters were basically making up the procedures for coverage as they went along. (8:00) BUDGET UPDATE -- NPR's Brian Naylor has an update on where Congress stands with relation to finalizing the budget. House Republicans want to use the budget surplus for a big tax cut. Budget committee chairman John Kasich says the surplus could be used to pay for a 700 billion dollar tax cut over the next decade. President Clinton calls the idea "the wrong course for America" and a danger to the Social Security program. (4:00) STARR INVESTIGATION -- NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports from Washington that Secret Service Agent Larry Cockell and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes today appeared at the courthouse where a Grand Jury is hearing testimony in the Monica Lewinsky investigation. Cockell was expected to appear today, but Ickes's appearance was a surprise. Ickes is reported to be part of an informal group advising President Clinton on how to respond to the Lewinsky investigation. (3:30) IRAN MISSILES -- Linda talks with Gary Milhollin, the executive director of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, about the missile that Iran tested early yesterday. The missile is believed to be capable of reaching all of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the southern tip of Russia. They discuss how this development changes the geopolitical balance of the region. (4:30) TEHRAN MAYOR VERDICT -- NPR's Eric Weiner reports that the mayor of Tehran and close ally of reformist president Mohammed Khatemi has been found guilty of corruption and embezzlement in a nationally televised trial which has had more to do with politics than crime. The conviction of the mayor, Ghulam Hussein Karbaschi, who was sentenced to five years in jail and 60 lashes, is seen as a setback in President Khatami's efforts to open up Iranian society to more democratic ways after nearly twenty years of rigid Islamic rule. (8:00) JACKSON'S BALL -- Linda talks with NPR's Scott Simon about developments in the ongoing saga concerning who will coach the Chicago Bulls professional basketball team next year. Yesterday, the coach of the Iowa State basketball team, Tim Floyd, quit his job...leading to widespread speculation that the Chicago Bulls team owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, would name him coach of the Bulls today. At a news conference this morning, though, Reinsdorf named Floyd "director of basketball operations"...leaving current Bulls head coach Phil Jackson the option of returning to coach for another season. All-star Michael Jordan has said that he will not play for a coach other than Jackson, and it is suspected that his reluctance to play for Floyd had something to do with the current arrangement. (4:15) TOUR DE FRANCE -- Noah talks with Sam Abt, who has covered the Tour de France bicycle race for the International Herald Tribune and the New York Times for the last two decades. They discuss the drug scandals that have rocked both the French and Dutch teams in the competition. A masseur for the French Festina cycling team was arrested for smuggling doping products into the country after approximately 400 vials of performance-enhancing drugs were discovered in a Festina team car two weeks ago. The management of the team confessed to organizing the doping, and the team was expelled from the competition. Three French officials and nine riders are now in custody. The nine, who include four-time King of the Mountains winner Richard Virenque and world road race champion Laurent Brochard, have agreed to help the police with their inquiries. Several Dutch riders are also reportedly being questioned today. (4:00)
LETTERS -- Linda and Noah read from listeners' comments. To contact All
Things Considered, write to:
BRAWLEY POSTCARD -- NPR's Melissa Block reports on the drama and the letdown following reports that Tawana Brawley would appear at the trial of her former advisers to tell what happened to her in 1987. Brawley never testified at the trial of the men she accused of rape and abduction. She ultimately did not appear at today's hearing, either. (2:30) JEFF BUCKLEY -- In May 1997, the singer and songwriter Jeff Buckley, son of folksinger Tim Buckley, drowned in a Memphis harbor. At the time, he was in the middle of rehearsing and recording the followup to his 1994 debut Grace. Music reviewer Tom Moon says that the songs, which have been packaged and released as the 2-cd set Sketches For My Sweetheart, the Drunk, are an intriguing glimpse into the younger Buckley's talent. Sketches For My Sweetheart, the Drunk is available on Columbia Records, catalog number C2K 67228. (4:30)
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