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Voters encountered long lines at the polls and scattered problems on Tuesday. Many of the difficulties were in the New York and New Jersey areas where some voters had to cast ballots in the dark or were confused about where to vote. There was also confusion about ID requirements in Pennsylvania, and some confrontations involving poll watchers.

By a 5-4 majority along ideological lines, the Supreme Court has ruled that Illinois can't compel home health aides to pay union dues because it violates the First Amendment. The ruling is a defeat for unions, but it falls short of the kind of sweeping denunciation that could have derailed unions' fundraising and organizing efforts.

Noah speaks with James Cusack, who covers security affairs for the Irish Times in Dublin. Cusack says the chances for a negotiated settlement between the British government and the IRA have diminished in the wake of the ascendency of the IRA's military wing. He says this hard-line inner core is more violent than the political leadership and less likely to negotiate.

Fires continue to rage across the west - the nation's worst fire season in more than ten years. This morning Forest Service Chief Mike Dombeck met with fire strategists at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. He is now touring fire lines and assessing the situation. From KBSX in Boise, Sadi Babits reports.

Robert talks with Leon Aron (AH-rohn), a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, about his assessment of Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Aron says that negatives about Yeltsin are exaggerated and that Russians associate two very positive things with Yeltsin; that lines for goods have disappeared, and that the ruble is now a valued, exchangeable currency.

Throughout this campaign year, education has ranked among the top concerns of voters -- especially those suburban women who often cross party lines and decide electoral outcomes. NPR's David Welna went to the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights to talk to moms with school-age children in a neighborhood George W. Bush visited this week.

NPR's Richard Harris reports on a new fossil skull, perhaps the most complete ever from a crucial period 3.5 million years ago. It was a period when the pre-human line was branching in several evolutionary directions. A member of the Leakey family found the skull. The Leakeys have been discovering fossils for three generations.

NPR's Ann Cooper reports that some human rights groups are urging Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to take a tough line with the Chinese government during her visit to Beijing on MOnday. Other human rights workers say their traditional, no compromise approach to China is not paying off and perhaps it's time to use a new strategy.

One more step into turning the telephone line into a multi-media communications channel. AT&T announced yesterday that it will soon be offering its 90 million customers five hours of free access to the Internet every month for one year. It's estimated that more than 15 million of the company's subscribers already own computers and modems.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from Sarajevo about life along the front line. The Bosnian government and Bosnian Serbs have pulled back their troops, and French peace-keepers have moved into position to create a buffer zone between the two warring groups. For the first time in nearly four years, the neighborhoods along the trenches are quiet.

The Pentagon today was at pains to clarify its policy towards contacts with the Chinese military, saying they would continue but be evaluated case by case. Officials were also intent on dispelling the notion that yesterday's mixed messages on the subject indicated any breakdown in the department's internal lines of command and communication. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from the Pentagon.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports on this week's fundraising controversies involving Vice President Al Gore and Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief of staff, Maggie Williams. What's clear is how raising money pushes limits. It's a craft that works in loopholes, gray areas and blurry lines, making it difficult to determine if the letter of the law was broken.

Captivated by a poetic line in Sen. Zell Miller's keynote speech Wednesday night at the Republican Convention, James Bowman writes a poem of his own. Bowman is a resident scholar at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where he is writing a book about honor. Each day this week he's providing us with a poem about events at the convention.

As the Bush administration works to line up support for a U.N. resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq, France urges three African Security Council members to reject the resolution. Meanwhile, the number of U.S. troops in Kuwait climbs to 160,000. Hear NPR's Vicky O'Hara and NPR's Mike Shuster.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee lined up Thursday to block a Democratic attempt to subpoena Bush administration legal memos on the use of torture on prisoners. The same day, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld acknowledged ordering that an Iraqi prisoner be held in secret for more than seven months, violating the Geneva Conventions. Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg.

Supporters of outgoing CIA Director George Tenet say he leaves behind an agency with greater morale, increased covert-operation capabilities and much-improved relations with the U.S. president. But critics say Tenet's support of faulty intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction crossed the line into policy advocacy. Hear NPR's Mike Shuster.

Baghdad's Al Durah power station provides electricity to about half of the city of five million. It's been shut down since it was hit by a U.S. airstrike over a week ago. Now, U.S. troops are working with Iraqi engineers to bring it back on line. NPR's Jackie Northam reports from Baghdad.

Paddy Keenan is an Irish musician descended from a long line of traveling pipers. In the 1970s, Keenan cofounded the influential group the Bothy Band. The group added driving rhythms to traditional Irish music. On the CD The Long Grazing Acre, Keenan plays the Irish bagpipes. Keenan discusses his music with NPR's Melissa Block.

A previously unreleased song by Nick Drake has been discovered decades after the drug-overdose death of the critically lauded singer-songwriter. The song, 'Tow the Line,' is from Made to Love Magic, a new compilation of Drake outtakes and remixes, set to be released in the U.S. in late June. Critic Tom Moon has a review.

United Air Lines edges closer to bankruptcy after federal regulators refuse a request for loan guarantees. United officials assure ticketholders flights will continue, but the company's cash is dwindling. It now faces nearly $1 billion in debt payments. Hear from NPR's Jim Zarroli, NPR's Jacki Lyden and aviation authority Darryl Jenkins.