September 9, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

CLINTON & CONGRESS -- NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports from Washington that independent counsel Kenneth Starr's report on President Clinton was delivered to Congress today. Earlier, House speaker Newt Gingrich met with Minority Leader Richard Gephardt and senior members of the House Judiciary Committee, to decide how to deal with the report. This morning, President Clinton had an emotional meeting at the White House with top Democratic leaders to express his regret and to ask for their support. And later in the day, he spoke at a Democratic fundraiser in Orlando, Florida, saying that he is determined to "redeem the trust" of the public. (6:00)

MECHANICS OF IMPEACHMENT -- In an interview with NPR's Nina Totenberg, former House Judiciary Committee Chairman Peter Rodino talked about some of the considerations he made when preparing 24 years ago for the impeachment hearings for President Richard Nixon. Many of his considerations -- bipartisanship, secrecy, subpoena power -- are some of the same ones facing House leaders today as they try to decide how they should respond to the report delivered to Congress today by independent counsel Kenneth Starr. (6:00)

GENDER SELECTION -- Robert talks with NPR science correspondent Joe Palca about a new technique that one fertility clinic has developed to allow women to increase their odds of having a female baby. Other clinics have made the same claim, only later to have it disproved. They discuss the methods used by this clinic and the ethical issues surrounding gender selection. (4:00)

BABY'S REVIEW -- After she puts her daughter to bed, commentator Elissa Ely listens to the baby talk to herself about her day. (2:30)

U.S. BUSINESSES IN RUSSIA -- NPR's David Welna reports there are are some 350 American companies doing business in Russia. Most face sharply reduced prospects following Russia's economic meltdown in recent weeks. Some companies with large investments say they are in Russia for the long-haul and are not concerned about the ruble's recent free-fall. But many analysts say these companies are unlikely to invest any additional funds in a seriously weakened Russian economy. (6:00)

ARTISTS AS ENTREPRENEURS -- NPR's Chris Arnold reports on an artist- turned-entrepreneur who has leveraged his interest in glass-blowing into a full-time business. The former computer-graphics designer says he prefers the challenge of running his own business to the more mundane jobs he's had in the past. (6:00)

ROYAL OPERA CLOSING -- NPR's Michael Goldfarb reports from London that the famed Royal Opera will close for a year while it undergoes "financial restructuring." The workforce of 500 will be substantially reduced, and even when the house reopens in December of 1999, the season will be scaled back. Allegations of mismanagement and payroll padding have plagued the Royal Opera, even as the level of subsidies has fallen. (4:00)

Due to Internet rights issues, the previous segment has been modified from its original broadcast form.

CHARLIE FEATHERS OBIT -- Noah talks with Peter Guralnick, the author of "Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley," about the career of singer and songwriter Charlie Feathers. Feathers died a week ago Saturday, at the age of 66. Feathers was an important influence on country and rockabilly music. ("Last Train to Memphis" is published by Little, Brown.) (3:00) ((STEREO))

Due to Internet rights issues, the previous segment has been modified from its original broadcast form.

FLOODGATES ARE OPEN -- NPR's Brian Naylor reports from Capitol Hill on the delivery of independent counsel Kenneth Starr's report on President Clinton. Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia spoke on the Senate floor this morning, sharply criticizing the president, but reserving final judgement and cautioning his colleagues also to wait before calling for punishment of the president. (5:00)

PROBES GALORE -- NPR's Peter Overby reports that President Clinton might not be the only one to feel the repercussions of Attorney General Janet Reno's investigation of White House campaign fundraising. The techniques pioneered by the Clinton-Gore campaign were very successful and were copied by both Democrats and Republicans. (3:30)

SWISSAIR SUIT -- NPR's Neal Conan examines the issues of legal liability after an airliner crashes. He reports that former boxer Jake LaMotta has filed the first lawsuit against Swissair following the crash last week of one its planes. LaMotta is seeking $50 million in damages and names McDonnell Douglas, which made the MD-11 that crashed, and Boeing, which purchased McDonnell Douglas last year. 229 people died when the Swissair jet crashed off the coast of Nova Scotia. (3:30)

BRIDGEPORT BEATING TRIAL -- Jackie Northam of member station WBEZ reports on the long-delayed start of the trial of the first of three white teenagers accused of beating 13-year-old Lenard Clark into a coma in March of 1997, in what police say was a racially motivated attack. The high-profile case was delayed in part because of the fate of two key witnesses; one was murdered and the other is missing, with rumors of possible mob connections. (3:30)

EDWARD ROBB ELLIS -- Robert talks with Marvin Taylor, the director of Fales Library at New York University. They discuss the career of Edward Robb Ellis, the most prolific diarist in the history of American letters. Ellis died on Monday at the age of 87. Ellis authored a seventy-volume diary...of which only one volume was published, called "A Diary of the Century." Edward Ellis donated his manuscripts...about half the size of the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica...to the Fales Library last spring. ("A Diary of the Century" was published by Kodansha America in 1995.) (4:00)

IRAQI NUKES -- NPR's Dan Charles reports how Iraq acquired some of its nuclear know-how and hardware before the Gulf War. His source is Khidhir Hamza, an MIT-trained scientist who ran Iraq's quest for a bomb until he defected to the United States. Hamza says Iraq easily acquired much of the needed hardware from Western corporations. But he says the key to Iraq's bomb project was, and continues to be, Iraq's experts, many of whom were trained abroad. Hamza also credits an international cadre of "technological mercenaries" who sell their expertise. (9:00)

NOISE INTENSITY -- NPR's Richard Harris reports that people are more attuned to sounds that get louder than they are to sounds that start loud and get softer. Research published in Nature magazine suggests this could have evolved because humans needed to be alert to approaching predators, so we're more sensitive to sounds that are getting louder. (3:30)

OTHER BASEBALL RECORDS -- Noah talkswith Bill James, the editor of "the All-Time Major League Handbook." They discuss other significant baseball records that have yet to be broken. (STATIONS: "The All-Time Major League Handbook" is published by Stats, Inc.) (4:30)

CARDINALS FAN DIARY -- We'll hear the comments of nine-year-old Joshua Peterson, a fourth grader at McElvey Elementary School in St. Louis. He recorded his reactions from Saturday through last night, watching Mark McGwire's march toward 62 home runs in a single professional baseball season. A sample: "The most incrediblest thing I've ever seen, or however you want to say it." (3:30)