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Producer-director Harold Prince is the producer of 3hree, three one-act musicals which opened last week in Philadelphia. He also directs one of the three musicals The Flight of the Lawnchair Man. In the 46 years of his career, he has won 20 Tony Awards in music theater, as well as acclaim for his work in film, drama and opera.

Republican leaders in Congress today vowed to stay and fight for their versions of the last few spending bills still pending before adjournment. President Clinton has threatened to veto the bills in current form because the spending levels and various policy changes are not to his liking. That means the legislators might not get out of town before Election Day a week from tomorrow. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

Robert talks to NPR's Eric Westervelt about the dismissal of attempted murder and assault charges against two New Jersey state troopers in a 1988 shooting on the New Jersey Turnpike. In dismissing the charges, the judge said prosecutors had abused their power and used unfair tactics. The troopers -- both white -- had argued that they fired in self defense injuring three of four men in a van they had pulled over for speeding. All four of those men are minorities. The case raised concerns about racial profiling. A remaining indictment against the troopers alleges the troopers tried to hid information about the race of the motorists.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome that an Italian cardinal has denounced the growing popularity of Halloween as an unwelcome foreign import. Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini urged Italian children to follow traditional Catholic rituals honoring the dead tomorrow, November first -- when the Church celebrates as All Saints' Day. Italian sociologists worry about a revival of witchcraft. Until a few years ago, Halloween was unknown in Italy. This year, jack-o-lanterns adorn shop windows, and children are dressing up as witches and vampires.

NPR's Nina Totenberg reports on the arguments before the Supreme Court today on whether Clean Water regulations apply to a body of water contained within a state, but used as habitat by migrating birds. The justices are being asked to rule on whether the fate of the body of water is of concern only to that state, or, because of the impact on the birds, to the larger environment.

The Presidential race shifts to the Pacific Northwest today, with both Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush campaigning in Portland, Oregon. With just a week to go in a tight race, both candidates are bearing down on a short list of states where Green Party candidate Ralph Nader's low-budget campaign could make a difference. NPR's Anthony Brooks reports from Portland.

Critic Tom Moon reviews the new CD from the rock band P.J. Harvey, called Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. The band is led by British singer/songwriter Polly Jean Harvey, who has earned a certain reputation for intensity. Her songs move from feverish punk distortion to rich acoustic blues, always with a heavy gloomy atmosphere. There is a sense of lives unraveling and promises shattered for her songs' characters. (4:45) Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, is out today from Island Records, catalog # Islf 15162-2. See http://www.pjharvey.net or http://www.islandrecords.com for more information.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports on the latest tussle between the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill. Late last night President Clinton vetoed another spending bill, this one that would finance the Treasury Department, White House and Congress itself. The veto apparently came in retaliation for the GOP's rejection of a compromise that would have financed schools and other social programs. Both sides came away from the squabble with inflamed rhetoric, with Republicans claiming that Mr. Clinton is deliberately trying to force a government shutdown, while the President saying that classrooms should be funded before the operation of Congress.

A remembrance for comedian Steve Allen, who has died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 78. Allen was a pioneer of late night TV, as the original host of The Tonight Show on NBC in 1954. His prolific career in entertainment also included record albums, movies, Broadway shows, work as a disc jockey and forty books.

Robert talks to Richard Vara, religion editor for the Houston Chronicle, about the vote by the Baptist General Convention in Texas to withhold millions of dollars in funding from the Southern Baptist Convention. The Texas branch of the denomination cited concerns about the increasingly conservative positions taken by the national leadership of the church.

Both Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush say they support a patients' bill of rights, and both make the issue part of the daily stump speeches. But while Gore has been very specific about his support for a bill that is stalled in Congress, Bush has kept avoided talk of too many details. As NPR's Julie Rovner reports, Bush's generalities about the issues sometimes conflict with one another, but not so much as to roil voters.

Members of the liberal wing of the Democratic party are staking claim that they won't be ignored this Presidential election season. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.