September 28, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

GEORGES HITS THE GULF -- Linda talks with NPR's Debbie Elliott about Hurricane Georges's arrival on the Gulf Coast this morning. Georges made landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi bringing torrential rains and wind gusts as high as 174 miles per hour. The storm has stalled over the Mississippi and Alabama coasts and may dump as much as 2 1/2 feet of rain on the area over the next few days. Officials report substantial flooding and widespread power outages and fear conditions could get much worse. (4:00)

NEW ORLEANS SPARED -- NPR's John Burnett reports people in New Orleans are relieved that the low-lying city was spared a direct hit from Hurricane Georges. The city has experienced tropical storm-force winds and some rain, but nothing like the deluge they had feared. Some 10-thousand people who were unable to evacuate the city took shelter at the Superdome last night. Many say they want to go home, but officials won't let them. (3:30)

PAULA JONES UPDATE -- NPR's Mara Liasson reports that the House Judiciary Committee is sending the remaining documents it received from Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr to the printer today. Chairman Henry Hyde says that material should be available to the public later in the week. Hyde says the committee will open a hearing next Monday on whether to recommend an impeachment inquiry. Meanwhile, attorneys for Paula Jones say they're making progress toward a monetary settlement to end Jones's sexual harassment lawsuit against President Clinton. (4:30)

MALAYSIA POWER STRUGGLE -- NPR's Michael Sullivan reports that police turned on demonstrators in the Malaysian capital today, the fifth day of unrest following the arrest of the country's popular Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar has been charged with sexual misconduct; supporters say the real problem is that he was pushing for greater reforms in a country rife with corruption and struggling thru Asia's economic crisis. The demonstrations are unprecedented in Malaysia, where the government of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad rarely tolerate criticism. (3:30)

GEARING UP FOR THE EURO -- NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Paris that France and ten other members of the European Monetary Union are gearing up for the launch of the single currency, or Euro, on January first. Even before its launch analysts are crediting the Euro with helping Europe weather the current turmoil on world financial markets. (4:30)

NC SENATE RACE -- NPR's Adam Hochberg reports on the contest for US Senate in North Carolina. Republican Lauch Faircloth is considered one of the most vulnerable incumbents in this year's election. But Faircloth is getting a lot of support from the state's business community because his Democratic opponent, John Edwards, is a trial lawyer who's made millions of dollars suing big businesses. (5:45)

GEORGE JUNIOR -- Commentator Lee Cullum says that she thinks Governor George W. Bush...who is running for a second term as governor of Texas...has an excellent chance of being nominated for the presidency. She says that he has all the qualities that moderate Republicans should be looking for in a candidate. (3:15)

LOSING STREAK -- Linda talks with Rory Barnett, the assistant coach for the Prairie View A&M Panthers in Prairie View, Texas. This past weekend, the Panthers ended an 80-game losing streak...the longest in NCAA history. On Saturday night, they defeated Langston University in Oklahoma City. The two teams play in the NCAA division I-AA. (3:15)

SEX OVER 60 -- NPR's Wendy Schmelzer reports on a new survey of sexual activity and attitudes among Americans over age 60. There have been few studies of sex over 60 ... the survey found that sex is common among these adults and many say they are quite satisfied with their sex lives. The researchers note that those in the survey grew up during a much more inhibited period in America -- they expect attitudes among older adults will change considerably as baby boomers hit retirement age. (4:30)

ELK MATING SEASON -- NPR's Mark Roberts sent us an audio postcard from Rocky Mountain National Park, where elk mating season is in full swing. (3:00)

MIDDLE EAST MEETING -- NPR's Ted Clark reports that President Clinton brought Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat to the White House today for another attempt to restart the stalled Oslo peace process. Clinton expressed optimism that progress was made, but did not announce an agreement. Instead, the President said, Israel and the Palestinians would return to Washington sometime around mid-October and try to work out their final differences over the next mandated Israeli withdrawal from occupied West Bank territory. (4:30)

SCHROEDER VICTORY -- NPR's Edward Lifson reports from Berlin that Germany's incoming Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, has asked the environmentalist Green Party to join his Social Democrats in a coalition government. Talks will begin on Friday. At a news conference today, Schroeder made clear that while he is seeking economic reform, there will not be any big shifts in foreign policy under his leadership. Schroeder's Social Democrats trounced the Christian Democrats in Sunday's general election, ending the 16-year reign of Chancellor Helmut Kohl. (4:30)

BOOMER IN CHARGE -- NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that yesterday's defeat of Chancellor Helmut Kohl may signal the end of World War II's domination of German political life. (3:00)

THE EUROPEAN LEFT -- Robert talks with Martin Walker, the European editor for the newspaper The Guardian. They talk about what the victory of Gerhard Schroeder means for European politics. Schroeder's election as Chancellor marks the first time in history that the governments of Germany, Britain, and France have all been run by leaders from the Left. (4:30)

DANISH CORRUPTION -- Robert talks with Flemming Rose, the Washington correspondent for Copenhagen's newspaper, Berlingske Tidende. They discuss a poll which identified the most-corrupt and least-corrupt countries around the world. Denmark was identified as the least-corrupt country. Rose says it's because Denmark is a contented, equalized country: all the social-welfare programs make it relatively impervious to corruption. (3:30)

VENTURE CAPITAL FIRM -- In Silicon Valley, the overwhelming majority of new businesses are started by men. Some observers of the Valley say that's because the venture capital firms that finance most new business startups are simply more comfortable working with men. NPR's Chris Arnold reports on a new venture capital firm that's run by women and is looking to invest in women entrepreneurs. (6:00)

GAME DESIGNERS EXPLOITED -- While the publishers of popular CD-ROM games and entertainment software such as Quake, Doom and Riven may make a lot of money, the artists who actually come up with the ideas and design the games haven't always gotten their fair share of the profits. NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports on the disparity and what's being done to change how the money from these games is shared between the designers and the distributors. (6:30)

PURE DRIVEL -- Robert talks with comedian, playwright, and actor Steve Martin, who has just published a collection of satirical essays on a wide range of topics. Martin favorably compares writing these essays with his old job:writing and performing stand-up comedy. With his writing, Martin can sit there laughing as he surprises himself. He reads from "Side Effects" -- a parody of magazine ads for medicine. Pure Drivel by Steve Martin is published by Hyperion. (5:00)