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that would create the world's largest freight company. The merger between CSX and Conrail, two train shipping companies, was announced yesterday. The companies say the merger would make shipping more efficient and less expensive, but manufacturers and labor unions are worried about costs, competition, and the loss of jobs. The controversial merger must first be approved by federal regulators.

on a study which finds that a number of small businesses account for most of the 10.5 million new jobs which have been created in the last four years. These rapid growth companies are referred to as, 'gazelles,' and include Netscape, Boston Market, and Southwest Airlines.

the Persian Gulf War to try and get further information about illnesses connected to the destruction of an Iraqi chemical weapons depot in 1991, which is now believed to have contained nerve gas.

a merit scholarship program in New York City that prepares minority students from public schools for the rigors of a private school education.

The Senate race in Massachusetts promised everything voters want in an election: two smart, popular candidates...the incumbent Senator, John Kerry, and the current governor of Massachusetts, William Weld; seven issue-oriented debates; and a voluntary limit on campaign spending. But the race has been tight for months and as election day draws near, the mud is flying and the voluntary spending caps both candidates had imposed are off. From member station WBUR, Patrick Cox reports.

Robert reads from listeners' comments. To conatact All Things Considered, write to All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue, Northwest, Washington DC, 20001. To contact us via the Internet, the address is ATC at NPR dot ORG. (4:00) (IN S

NPR's Vicki Que reports that the group trying to bring the "French abortion pill" to American women is having trouble raising the money it needs. The Population Council, a non-profit group in New York, set up a private, non-profit company to market RU 486 in the United States. But the company is having trouble raising the estimated $20 million it needs, in part because the drug is so controversial.

Executive Director of the National Conference of State Legislatures, about next month's state legislative elections. Following the '94 elections, Republicans controlled both legislative chambers in 18 states, Democrats controlled both houses in 16 states, while the two parties split control in the other 16.

seem to be closer to reaching an agreement on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Hebron. The development came amid controversy over French President Chirac's visit to Israel yesterday.

NPR's Michael Goldfarb reports that Kurdish leader Mahmoud Barzani's alliance with Baghdad one week, followed by reconciliation talks with American officials the next week, can be explained by a long history among Kurds of pitting one regional power against another in their aborted effort to carve out their own Kurdish nation from parts of Turkey, Iraq and Iran.

NPR's Berkes reports that investigators have found strong evidence implicating "Unabomber" suspect, Theodore Kaczynski.

plays tonight. The American Basketball League has teams in eight cities and features some of the best female players in the world. Others have failed before, but organizers believe this league will thrive on the coattails of the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team, and the increased popularity of the college game.