September 25, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

Dominican Republic Aftermath -- Linda talks to Luke Greeves of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He says that the damage from the storm is of two kinds: wind damage along the coasts and severe flooding inland. Many communities are accessible only by boat or helicopter because of the flooding. [4:00]

Miami Zoo Preparations -- Linda talks to Ron Magill of the Miami Metro Zoo about the the preparations there for Hurricane Georges' arrival. The animals were taken to shelter on the zoo property, including a group of flamingoes that were kept in the men's restroom overnight. The hurricane warning was lifted from the Miami area, but Magill says that all of the work to bring the animals to shelter was worth it -- more than 100 animals in the zoo were killed in Hurricane Andrew. [4:00]

Embassy Bomb Plot -- NPR's Martha Raddatz reports that Uganda, with the help of the CIA and the FBI, has broken up a plot to bomb the U.S. embassy in that African nation. Ugandan officials have now detained twenty people in connection with the plot. Two of those detained are said to be the group's ringleaders, and are reportedly tied to Osama bin Laden. The U.S. believes bin Laden was behind the August 7 bombings of the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. [3:00]

Russia's Crisis and the Media -- NPR's Michele Kelemen reports from Moscow that the financial crisis in Russia has hit all sectors of the economy, including the mass media. Newspapers are on the verge of closing down, raising questions about the future of the free press. (4:30)

Gershwin, Then and Now -- The one hundredth anniversary of the birth of George Gershwin is tomorrow. He is one of America's finest composers who wrote hits for Broadway, concert halls, and Hollywood. And today, more than 60 years after his death, these songs still enchant. NPR's Susan Stamberg tells us more about the composer's life and his music. This item is unavailable due to copyright issues.

Friday Sports Talk -- All Things Considered host Robert Siegel and sports commentator Stefan Fatsis of The Wall Street Journal talk about the upcoming baseball playoffs and some of the highlights and low points of the baseball season. (3:30)

Baseball Hall of Fame -- Robert talks with John Ralph and Jeff Idelson who work at the national Baseball Hall of fame Museum. John Ralph has been following Sammy Sosa's season and Jeff Idealson follows Mark Macgwire. they talk about collecting artifacts from each player's season -- from jerseys to bats to the numbers on the scoreboard. (4:30)

Paula Jones Settlement -- NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports that Paula Jones has offered to settle her sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton for $1 million, and the president has countered with 500-thousand dollars. They have tried to settle before, but talks reportedly fell apart over whether the president would apologize to Jones. If they settle now, Jones will drop an appeal of a federal judge's dismissal of her case. More than ever, the president would like to be free of the Jones case, now that it has led to the independent counsel's perjury accusation and possible impeachment hearings. (4:00)

House Judiciary Vote -- The House Judiciary Committee meets today to consider what to make public from another 60,000 pages of material from Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. The panel has been split along partisan lines over virtually ever aspect of procedures that could lead to the impeachment of President Clinton. NPR's Brian Naylor reports. (4:00)

Impeachment and the Polls -- National polls, including two released today, have shown an overwhelming reluctance by the American people to see impeachment proceedings begin against President Clinton. Yet the Republican leadership in Congress is planning to go full speed ahead with beginning an impeachment inquiry. From Chicago, NPR's David Welna tries to explain the disconnect between the pols and the polls. (4:00)

Hedge Fund Fallout -- NPR'S Jim Zarroli reports the hedge fund, Long Term Capital Management, claimed more victims today as two European banks acknowledged losses from the high-flying fund's near collapse. Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York orchestrated an unusual rescue package for the aggressively managed fund. Now there are new calls for stepped up scrutiny of the lightly regulated hedge fund industry. (4:00)

Post-Partum of the Novelist -- Commentator Andrei Codrescu has some thought about the sense of loss and post-partum sadness that a novelist feels after releasing his characters onto the pages of a book. (3:30)

Bosnia Elections -- NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Sarajevo that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is finally announcing results of the general elections it supervised in Bosnia-Herzegovina nearly two weeks ago. Many moderate candidates backed by the international community -- notably Bosnian Serb president Biljana Plavsic -- were defeated by hardliners. But U.S. envoy Robert Gelbard says the outcome was not a complete repudiation of the West's policy of cultivating Bosnian politicians who support a multi-ethnic state. (4:15)

Bosnia Commentary -- Commentator Iain Guest has some thoughts about the Bosnian elections. He says the defeat of Biljana Plavsic has jeopardized Western plans for rebuilding Bosnia. (3:00)

Germans Go to the Polls -- NPR's Edward Lifson reports from Berlin on the general election this Sunday in Germany. The race is a cliff-hanger, with Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian Democrats making inroads against Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats. Chancellor Kohl likes to stress his accomplishments in presiding over unification and his status as an elder statesman in Europe. But for most Germans, unemployment is the number one issue, and Chancellor Kohl is vulnerable on this point. The country's jobless rate remains near record highs. (5:00)

Gloucester Casino Boat -- The state of Massachusetts has banned gaming - but a floating casino sails from the old fishing community of Gloucester every day to international waters. This act is creating tension between those who say a casino boat violates the spirit and heritage of Gloucester - and those who see the declining fishing industry, and say: you can't live off heritage. Nancy Cohen reports. (4:45)

Arturo Sandoval -- Music critic Charles de Ledesma reviews a new CD called "Hot House" by trumpet player Arturo Sandoval. The rhythm and spirit of 1970's Latin jazz is alive on this new CD which also features musicians Michael Brecker, Tito Puente and Ed Calle. (Note: Arturo Sandoval's "Hot House" is widely available on the N2K Encoded Music label. On the Web at www.n2Kencodedmusic.com.) (3:30)