October 2, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

World Economy -- NPR's John Ydstie reports President Clinton today issued a call to aggressive action to counter the global economic turmoil and head off a potential worldwide recession. The words were aimed at the Congress, which has withheld funding for the International Monetary Fund, the world's financial fireman. The message was also aimed at world financial leaders who are gathering in Washington for meetings of the G7, the IMF and the World Bank over the next several days. (4:00)

September Employment Report -- NPR's Jim Zarroli reports job growth slowed in September, according to figures released by the labor department today. Although the overall unemployment rate rose just a tenth of a percentage point, the number of new jobs created was sharply lower than the month before. Economists said the steep drop may be an aberration...but they also say the figures offer clear proof that the worldwide economic slowdown is being felt in the United States. (4:00)

Air Strike Effectiveness -- NPR's Martha Raddatz reports that NATO and the United States are continuing to plan for air strikes against Serbia unless Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic gets his forces out of Kosovo province. What remains at issue is how effective air strikes can be in this situation. (4:00)

Police and the Mentally Ill -- NPR's Richard Gonzales reports on efforts around the nation to prevent violent, and sometimes deadly, confrontations between police and the mentally disturbed. Some police agencies now team mental health professionals with officers on patrols where the may encounter mentally disturbed people. (7:00)

Chicago Board of Trade -- NPR's David Welna reports that the 150-year-old Chicago Board of Trade, the world's oldest and largest futures exchange took a step into the future this week, allowing computer trading for the first time in its history. Previously, all trading was done by the "open outcry" method with traders standing in the trading pits frantically shouting and signalling each other. Other future's exchanges are going electronic and the Board of Trade is trying to keep pace. (6:30)

Nuclear Plants -- Many of the nation's nuclear power plants are reaching the end of their licenses. They were designed to last about 30 to 40 years, but some plants want to keep turning out electricity and are asking the government for new licenses. Reporter Allison Aubrey reports on the first request in a decade for a new nuclear power license, and on some of the safety and financial questions new licenses raise. (6:00)

New Medicare Crisis -- NPR's Julie Rovner reports on a new crisis facing Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly and the disabled. Today was the deadline for HMOs and other managed-care plans to file applications to serve Medicare patients next year. But Medicare has received only a handful of applications --- and many HMOs say they're going to drop existing patients from their plans, come January 1. (2:00)

Women Mariachis -- NPR's Phillip Davis reports from Guadalajara that all-women bands are slowly making inroads in the traditionally male world of mariachi music. There have been a handful of all-female bands since the 1950's, but now their numbers are increasing. While some in the macho world of mariachi have welcomed the women into the fold, others still feel that playing this music is man's work. This item is unavailable due to copyright issues.

More Documents -- The House Judiciary Committee has released thousands of pages of additional documents from Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's investigation of President Clinton. Included in the material are e-mail between Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp and grand jury testimony by the president's secretary Betty Currie and his friend Vernon Jordan. Also released today are transcripts of the phone conversations between Lewinsky and Tripp that Tripp secretly taped. NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports. (4:15)

Tripp Evidence -- All Things Considered host Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Legal Affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg and White House correspondent Mara Liasson about what today's newly released documents show about the taped conversations between Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky that led to the expansion of Kenneth Starr's investigation into the President. (4:45)

Appropriation Bills Stall -- NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Capitol Hill on eleventh hour efforts to complete legislative work on appropriation bills needed to authorize government funding in the fiscal year that began yesterday. President Clinton has signed legislation enabling the government to continue functioning through next week, but Congress still must deal with a variety of contentious spending issues before beginning its planned recess at the end of next week. (3:00)

Personal Finance -- Linda talks with Sharon Rich, a fee-only financial planner in Belmont, Massachusetts. They discuss the advice that Rich is giving to her clients on how to plan for their financial futures in this period of market volatility. (5:00)

Sticker Shock -- Commentator Dick George thought the stock market was doing just fine. He can't figure out why it would want to correct itself. He has some sound financial advice for anyone who cares to listen. (2:30)

Finn Case -- NPR's Steve Inskeep reports that the Virginia Supreme Court has rejected Governor Jim Gilmore's appeal to reinsert the feeding tube of a comatose man. Hugh Finn's feeding tube was removed yesterday at the request of his family -- after a judge had rejected a last-minute request by Gilmore to block the move. (3:30)

Brazil Election -- NPR's Mike Shuster reports from Sao Paulo that Brazilians go to the polls Sunday to elect a president. Incumbent Fernando Henrique Cardoso is far ahead in the polls, despite an economic crisis that threatens to plunge the nation into a severe recession. Many among the poor and working class will vote to give Cardoso another term because he was the architect of the successful fight against hyper-inflation. (4:30)

Mexico City Massacre -- Franc Contreras reports from Mexico City that today is the thirtieth anniversary of the October second, nineteen sixty-eight massacre of at least two hundred student protestors by government security forces. Historians consider the massacre a turning point in Mexican history, saying it helped provide the impetus for an era of political reform that continues today. Thirty years after the incident, many are still pressing the government to tell the full story of what happened that day. The army refuses to open its archives. (4:30)

Friday Sports Talk -- All Things Considered host Noah Adams talks with Stefan Fatsis, who writes about sports and sports business for the Wall Street Journal, about the Major League Soccer playoffs currently underway in the United States. They assess the success of the league, which is currently in its third year of existence. (3:30)

Gene Autry Dies -- Gene Autry, who was known as Hollywood's first "singing cowboy," died today at the age of 91 after a long illness. He also became a multi-millionaire through wise investments and a career in other forms of broadcasting and was the original owner of the California Angels baseball team. We'll hear tape of Autry, and Linda has an appreciation of this iconic movie figure's long and varied career. (3:15)