September 11, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

WHAT'S IN THE REPORT AND WHITE HOUSE REACTION -- Noah and Linda talk about today's release of the Independent Counsel's report on President Clinton with NPR's Nina Totenberg and Mara Liasson. They discuss the impact of the report, reaction to the report on Capitol Hill, and the details of the report itself. They'll also talk about the possible repercussions of the report on the Clinton presidency. (8:00)

WHITE HOUSE REACT -- NPR's Brian Naylor reports from Capitol Hill on today's vote by the House to make Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's report public. The report was made available on the internet, but voluminous appendices and evidence remain under guard pending review by members of the House Judiciary Committee. The committee has been asked to remove potentially embarrassing material about innocent individuals. (4:00)

CLINTON AT PRAYER BREAKFAST -- We will hear an excerpt of President Clinton's remarks this morning at a prayer breakfast held in the East Room of the White House. Just hours before Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's report to Congress on his eight-month investigation into the Monica Lewinsky scandal was to be made public, the president said "I have sinned" and made another plea for forgiveness to a group of more than 100 religious leaders. (3:00)

INTERNET OVERLOAD-- The House of Representatives has decided to put Kenneth Starr's report on President Clinton online. Web engineers in the government anticipate enormous electronic traffic from people logging in for a look, and have distributed the files on different web sites. But slowdowns and crashes on the Internet are expected. Reporter David Kestenbaum reports on what happens when the web sites get overloaded. You can read the report and the Clinton rebuttal on the NPR Web site. (3:00)

CYBERCAFE REACT -- NPR's Anthony Brooks is at a Cyber-cafe in Harvard Square.....talking with people about the Starr report, which is supposed to be available on the Internet. (3:00)

DUMA APPROVES PRIMAKOV -- NPR's Michele Kelemen reports that the Russian Duma has overwhelmingly endorsed the nomination of foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov to be prime minister. Primakov is bringing back hold-overs from the Communist era to key positions. Viktor Gerashchenko, the former Central Bank Chairman known for a liberal policy on printing money, will be back in his old job. And Yuri Maslyukov -- the former head of the Soviet central planning agency, Gosplan -- has been named deputy prime minister in charge of the economy. (4:30)

NY SENATE RACE -- Geraldine Ferraro entered the race for the Democratic Senate nomination from New York a heavy favorite, based on her celebrity status as the first woman to run for Vice President. But she has run a disorganized campaign, falling behind in the money race and failing to fully explain her rationale for her candidacy. The most recent polls show her falling behind Brooklyn Congressman Charles Schumer, with the winner taking on Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato in November. From member station WNYC, Beth Fertig reports that a Ferraro loss could end her political career. (6:00)

STARR REPORT UPDATE -- Robert and Linda have the latest information on the release of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's report on President Clinton. (1:30)

JOHN MCPHEE -- Noah talks with longtime New Yorker magazine writer John McPhee, about McPhee's new book, "Annals of the Former World." It's a collection of his four American geology books, plus a new essay. McPhee describes the concept of deep time, and people's tendency to have a very short view of how the world is changing. He began writing about geology twenty years ago, in addition to his other writing; he now has twenty-five books in print. They also talk about how McPhee's picture has never appeared on a book jacket -- he believes the reader should have an unlimited opportunity to imagine what the writer might be like. (STATIONS: "Annals of the Former World' is published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux; ISBN 0-374-10520-0) (8:00)

MORE ON STARR REPORT -- Noah and Linda talk with NPR's Chitra Ragavan for the latest details on the Independent Counsel's report on the president. They'll discuss the mood on Capitol Hill, what's happening at the White House, and such details of the report as are known at this time. (7:30)

AT THE WHITE HOUSE -- NPR's Mara Liasson reports that President Clinton apologized again today for what he called his "sin," regarding Monica Lewinsky. But he also said his lawyers will conduct a vigorous defense against charges made by the Independent Counsel. The White House has released a rebuttal of the charges, maintaining that the president did not commit perjury when he said he did not have sexual relations with Lewinsky. The rebuttal also says any transgressions committed by the president are not high crimes deserving impeachment. (4:30)

HOUSE REPUBLICAN REACT -- Noah talks with Representative Bill McCollum of the 8th district in Florida about how the House Republican leadership is reacting to the contents of the Starr report. He is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, and will help make decisions about what direction the inquiry into President Clinton's alleged misconduct will take. (3:30)

OHIO DEMOCRATIC PARTY REACT -- Linda talks with David Leland, the Democratic State Chair for the state of Ohio. They discuss how reaction to the Starr report on President Clinton could affect the upcoming midterm elections. (4:30)

BOSNIA ELECTIONS -- NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports that Bosnians go to the polls this weekend for general elections -- the fifth time they are voting since the Dayton Peace Accords were signed three years ago. The United States and other Western powers have spent enormous financial and political capital on nation-building in Bosnia. While the country remains ethnically divided, in the Serbian part of the country, hardline nationalist parties are not as strong as they once were, and at least some people feel they are better off economically. (4:15)

KOSOVO -- NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that as the humanitarian crisis in Serbia's Kosovo province grows more dire by the day, Yugoslav authorities have invited international relief agencies to distribute aid at government-run centers. Private relief groups are refusing to cooperate. They note that ethnic Albanians -- particularly able-bodied men -- do not feel safe gathering at centers patrolled by Serb police. The U-S government initially supported the project and earmarked some aid for the Serb-run centers, but is now backing off. (4:15)

TEXAS FLOODS -- Debra Fraser of member station KUHF reports Tropical Storm Frances drenched Texas with as much as 10 inches of rain when it came ashore this morning. The Houston area has been particularly hard hit, as floodwaters caused by the storm have filled highways, closed schools and business, and forced thousands of people to leave their homes. South and central Texas are under a flash flood watch today. The effects of the storm are being felt from the Mexican border to Louisiana. (2:30)

NEWS UPDATE -- Robert and Linda have a roundup of the very latest information on Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's report on President Clinton. (1:00)

FATSIS FRIDAY -- Stefan Fatsis of the Wall Street Journal talks with Noah about the baseball season, Mark McGwire's new single-season home run record, and the pennant race in our weekly sports feature. (4:00)

TOUCH OF EVIL -- Using a recently discovered 58-page memo that Orson Welles wrote after seeing a preview of the studio cut of his movie, "Touch of Evil," Oscar-winning editor Walter Murch has reconstructed the film according to Welles's specifications. Movie critic Bob Mondello says that the results make a film that was already a masterpiece sharper and clearer. (3:30)