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NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg reports that the Bush administration is trying to decide whether to fight Democrats over the use of the American Bar Association to screen judicial nominees. The administration would like to eliminate this step in the nomination process, though it's been done since the days of President Eisenhower.

Host Bob Edwards talks with Hersch Goodman of the Jaffe Center for Strategic Studies. They discuss Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's visit to the White House today.

Host Bob Edwards talks to Richard Allen, National Security Adviser under President Ronald Reagan, about the tape recordings he made in the White House Situation Room the day President Ronald Reagan was shot. Most every top administration official was in the room that day, and the tapes provide a rare glimpse of their private conversations about who was in charge, whether the assassination attempt was part of a conspiracy, and what to do about Soviet subs closer than usual to U.S. shores. Next week marks the 20th anniversary of the attempt on Reagan's life. This interview is the first of two parts.

NPR's Guy Raz reports from northwest Macedonia that army tanks today began shelling positions held by ethnic Albanian rebels in the hills over Tetovo. The government tonight gave the rebels 24 hours to clear out of the hills -- or face an all-out assault. In the capital, Skopje, the European Union's security chief, Javier Solana, warned the rebels they would achieve nothing by force. The rebels said they were prepared to negotiate, but vowed to continue fighting if the government refuses to grant the Albanian community greater civil rights.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Cumbria in Northern England, the region hardest hit by the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. Farmers are challenging the government's insistence on slaughtering all animals within two miles of infected sites. With "Keep Out" signs posted throughout the English countryside, the outbreak has caused huge losses in the tourism industry, as well. The government has deployed army troops to help dispose of the animal carcasses that have been piling up.

Kathy Witkowsky reports that lung damage may be much greater than expected for residents of Libby, MT. Residents were exposed to asbestos from a local mine --and recent health reports indicate even people with no direct contact with the mining operations have sustained asbestos-related lung damage.

Congress recently repealed a set of rules governing repetitive motion in the workplace -- rules put in place during the final days of the Clinton administration. Congress did that by invoking a 1996 law that allows the review of federal regulations within the first months after they are imposed by the executive branch. Now some members of Congress want to use the same power to review some of President Bush's rules changes, specifically as they apply to abortion. NPR's David Welna reports.

Noah Adams speaks with Kathleen Cambor, author of In Sunlight, In a Beautiful Garden. Her book is a novel based on the events surrounding the Johnstown flood in 1889. The flood claimed 2,200 lives after a dam burst on Memorial Day weekend. The book traces some of the complex social tensions between the residents of Johnstown and the wealthy Pittsburgh industrialists who'd built country homes nearby and on whose land the defective dam stood. The book is published by Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.

Commander Scott Waddle, skipper of the USS Greeneville, stunned a Navy court of inquiry in Hawaii today by taking the stand to testify without immunity. He is taking full responsibility for the sub's deadly collision with a Japanese fishing trawler. Waddle and his attorney had said he would not testify in the inquiry unless assured that his answers would not be used against him in a court martial or other criminal proceeding. But in a dramatic opening statement, Waddle said he wanted to be heard by the families of the nine killed in the Feb. 9 collision. Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Andy Bowers who's at the hearing in Pearl Harbor.

NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports on President Bush's White House meeting with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Today, the president said he will not to try to "force peace," in the Middle East. Mr. Bush also said that America's role should be to facilitate talks and not dictate a timetable. For his part, Prime Minister Sharon said he wants an end to violence before he'll resume talks with the Palestinians.

Alan Cheuse reviews Gabriel's Story by David Anthony Durham. It's the story of runaway black youths in the great American West of the 1870s. The book is published by Doubleday.

NPR's Peter Overby reports on the first amendment to the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform bill that has passed the Senate. By a 70-30 vote, lawmakers approved a proposal that would help level the playing field for candidates who run against rich opponents who finance their own campaigns.