August 7, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Kenya Witness -- All Things Considered host Robert Siegel talks with John Greenlee, railway coordinator for the World Food Program. Mr. Greenlee was in his Nairobi office this morning when he heard two blasts come from the vicinity of the American embassy. He says that while the first blast was loud, the second sent him and his colleagues to the floor and inflicted significant damage to his office building. (3:00)

Congressional Reaction -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Peter Kenyon about Capitol Hill reaction to the bombings at American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania today. They also discuss what remains on the legislative table and where the work of Congress stands as the House goes into the August recess. The Senate went into recess last week. (4:30)

Child Support -- Over 20 states have decided to privatize child support collection services. In Baltimore, Maryland, officials hope that the Lockheed corporation will be able to collect millions of dollars in child support owed to poor women. Right now, the state government has a collection rate of 16%. Susan Goodman reports. (6:30)

Unfair to Vince -- Commentator Marion Winik tells a story from the perspective of her seven year old son, Vincie -- talking about all the reasons why life has been unfair to him. (2:00)

FTC and Liquor -- NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports on reaction to the Federal Trade Commission's ordering of major alcoholic beverage companies to show they are doing enough to discourage underage drinkers. (3:30)

Narragansett Bay -- The state of Rhode Island wants to build an international container port in Narragansett Bay -- the centerpiece of Rhode Island's fishing and tourist industry. Some residents are excited by the prospect of new jobs; others worry about the environmental effects. Some critics say there's no guarantee a new port would thrive, amid all the competition. Carol Rabel reports. (6:00)

'The Thin Red Line' -- "The Thin Red Line" was published in 1962 as the middle of James Jones' war-time trilogy that began with From Here to Eternity and concluded with Whistle, which he was working on at the time of his death. Alan Cheuse has reread Jones' fictional version of the battle of Guadalcanal as a new reissue of the book has hit the stores in preparation for a filmed version of the story. Note: "The Thin Red Line" is available from Delta Books. (2:00)

Friday Sports Talk -- Stephen Fatsis, a sports writer for the Wall Street Journal, joins Linda for our usual Friday sports wrap-up. Today, Fatsis gives us a football season preview and he talks about the home-run derby, still happening, in major league baseball. (4:30)

Clemente Tribute -- Robert talks with Larry Harlow, the producer of "Roberto Clemente: A Tribute in Song." Harlow wrote the title song for the CD, and talks about his idea for producing a musical tribute to the Puerto Rican baseball star and humanitarian, in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Clemente's death. Clemente played right field for the Pittsburgh Pirates; he was killed in an airplane crash delivering supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua after the 1972 baseball season. The CD features performances by Andy Ismael Miranda, Tito Allen, Lefty Perez, and Edel Borrero. Note: "Roberto Clemente: A Tribute in Song" is available from Rykodisc, CD number RLCD1021. This item is unavailable due to copyright issues.

Nairobi Blast -- Robert talks with Jennifer Glasse for the latest information on the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania today. She talks about what she's observed at the scene of today's embassy bombing in Nairobi. (4:15)

Dar es Salaam Blast -- Linda talks with Cume Lague, who works for a telephone company called the African Communications Group in Tanzania. This morning, Mr. Lague was about a mile away from the blast at the American embassy in Dar es Salaam, the Tanzanian capital. He says that the explosion knocked out the windows in his office. (4:15)

Embassy Security -- NPR's Barbara Bradley reports on the challenges of trying to keep American embassies safe around the world. (3:30)

Starr Inquiry -- Robert talks with NPR's Chitra Ragavan about today's release of an appeals court decision limiting the role of President Clinton's attorneys in an investigation into alleged leaks to the news media by independent counsel Kenneth Starr. Court papers indicate that Independent Counsel Starr's office has been the source of leaked material from the federal grand jury investigating the Whitewater matter. A judge overseeing the Starr inquiry had ruled that White House attorneys could cross-examine Starr's prosecutors, a decision Starr argued could undermine his investigation. The appeals court agreed with Starr, but it is allowing the leak investigation to continue. (4:00)

American Airlines -- NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports that an ongoing contract dispute between American Airlines and its pilot union was resolved today. The conflict had inconvenienced thousands of passengers this summer when flights were cancelled because crews did not show up. (3:30)

Congo Unrest -- NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Kinshasa that the Congolese government seems to be stepping up its crackdown on ethnic Tutsis in the wake of this week's army rebellion. Soldiers in the capital have been arresting Tutsis, in response to the fact that ethnic Tutsi soldiers -- apparently backed by the Tutsi-led Rwandan army -- are leading the revolt against President Laurent Kabila. Last night, troops shot off the lock at the U.S. embassy and entered the diplomatic compound in an apparent search for Tutsis. (3:30)

China Floods -- NPR's Mary Kay Magistad reports from central China, where the government has begun evacuating as many as a half-million people from along the flooding Yangtze River. The river is at record levels and rising. Authorities are intentionally flooding small towns and villages to protect larger cities farther downstream. Flooding this summer has killed more than two-thousand people, destroyed nearly six million houses and damaged nearly 12 million acres of crops. The Ministry of Civil Affairs reports that this summer's floods have affected nearly 240 million people -- nearly 14 million of whom have fled their homes. (4:00)

Jordan Succession -- NPR's Eric Weiner reports from Amman that Jordan's King Hussein has revealed that he has been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer and that he will be undergoing treatment for the disease for at least the next three months at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. According to early indications, he is responding well to chemotherapy, but his illness has prompted a new wave of discussion about who would accede to power in his moderate kingdom following Hussein's death. (5:00)

Cinematic Long Shots -- Movie critic Bob Mondello talks about the use of lengthy shots in cinema. Historically, long, unbroken, unedited shots have give films a distinct look, and showed the technical expertise of the director. Today's technology has changed their effect. Mondello talks about some of his favorite examples of the form. (7:30)