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NPR's Eric Weiner reports that Isreali Prime Minister Shimon Peres is ready to talk about a ceasefire in Lebanon. But there is pressure from the public to continue the popular operation, and with an election just five weeks away, there's pressure for him to look tough.

NPR's Joe Palca reports that scientists have found a way to freeze cells that eventually become sperm cells, unfreeze them and allow them to develop into mature sperm cells. The advance should lead to improved methods for treating male infertility, and allow scientists to give men a certain sense of 'immortality.'

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports on one of the last remnants of the Cold War: tensions on the Korean peninsula. Many South Koreans are chafing at the presence of 37,000 American troops, but the unpredictability of North Korea presages that US forces will be there for years to come.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports on Russia's Ministry of Atomic Energy...MinAtom... [min-AT-um] and its director Victor Mikhailov. This agency has responsibility for all the stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and plutonium in Russia. Mikhailov has made life very difficult for US officials who have been trying to help Russia safeguard the material. MinAtom will not admit the extent of the problem it has with security, and according to some officials has stood in the way of most attempts to improve the safeguards.

NPR's Martha Raddatz reports on US reaction to the tensions between North and South Korea, as soldiers from the North violated the buffer zone between the two countries. US officials are confident that the maneuvers will not lead to an invasion of the South.

NPR's Trevor Rowe reports on the move to give asylum to female refugees who fear that they will be subject to sexual violence or female circumcision if they are forced to return home. The US has adopted guidelines allowing such asylums, but critics say they are not rigorously enforced.

The Fantastiks celebrated its 36th anniversary yesterday, making it the world's longest running musical. Critic Bob Mondello examines why some broadways shows run long...while others have a short life on the stage.

The future of Jerusalem and Jewish settlement on the West Bank was one of the most difficult issues faced today in Taba Egypt at the peace talks between Israel and Palestine. The talks entered their final phase today, as NPR's Eric Weiner reports.

Commentator Marianne Jennings says this is the season when CEO salaries are made public, and while some say they are getting rewarded for a job well done, if you are a shareholder or a laid off employee, you may not agree.

Marius Benson reports that Deputy President F.W. De Klerk and his National Party announced today that they will pull out of South Africa's government of national unity at the end of June. The move comes the day after parliament ratified the first post-apartheid constitution. After the next election in 1999, the constitution says the government will be based on majority rule, and De Klerk said the National Party wants to get an early start on establishing itself as a credible alternative to Nelson Mandela's African National Congress.

NPR's Michael Skoler reports on today's presidential election in Uganda, the first fair election there in over thirty years. President Yoweri Museveni (yo-WHERE-ee moo-SEH-vuh-nee) is expected to win easily--while he has permitted candidates to challenge him, he has forbidden political parties from participating. Museveni--who has ruled Uganda since seizing power ten years ago--says his "no-party" system is a good democratic model for Africa, because it prevents ethnic and religious strife. The president's opponents say it's a thinly-veiled way to keep himself in power.

Robert Siegel gets reactions from the states about Clinton's welfare proposals. He speaks with William Grinker, former head of New York City's social services, and Penelope Clarke, director of Sacramento county department of human resources.

NPR's Linda Gradstein looks at historical and religious strains in Hebron, and how those complicate Isreal's partial pullout the city. Muslims and Jews alike view it as the birthplace of their respective faiths, and neither side wants to withdraw an inch.

NPR's John Ydstie reports the economy showed signs of renewed strength in the first three months of the year. The Commerce Department says the nation's gross domestic product grew 2.8% in the first quarter, a faster rate of growth than most analysts expected. Healthy levels of cnsumer spending and business investment.

NPR's Tovia (TOE-vee-uh) Smith reports on a fight in Connecticut and a number of other states over how best to care for mentally retarded adults. A number of states have closed down their mental instituions, favoring instead smaller home based programs. But some in Connecticut defend the state's largest such institution, the Southbury Training School...saying it is not the cold cruel place critics charge it is.

Commentator Lee Cullum says American corporations seem confused about where their chief allegiance should be...too many think they should serve their shareholders at the expense of everybody else--that's faulty thinking. Business leaders share three vital constituencies--customers, employees and shareholders.

NPR's Cheryl Corley visits the Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Illinois. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently filed a major sex harrassment suit against Mitsubishi, charging that female employees had been victims of years of harrassment by male employees. Employees are divided over whether the charges are justified, and the dispute has made life very tense at the plant, one of the largest employers in town.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports that international relief agencies are agonizing over whether to return to Liberia. Most aid groups were forced to abandon the country last month, when renewed fighting shattered the country's fragile peace. Mostly teenage militias ransacked relief agencies' offices and stole their equipment and supplies. Aid workers worry that even if the situation stabilizes and they do return to Liberia, there are no guarantees that things won't deteriorate again.

NPR's Jon Greenberg reports that welfare reform is one of the big uncompleted pieces of business from last year. As lawmakers continue to wrestle with an overhaul at the federal level, the states have been making their own changes. 37 states have been granted waivers to set their own rules on who is eligible for assistance. Today, President Clinton gave the states more leeway. In his weekly radio address, he announced any state that wants to, will now be allowed to pay teenage mothers a cash bonus if they stay in school.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports that Ghana today reluctantly agreed to permit an overcrowded freighter dock and unload more than three thousand people who had fled the fighting in Liberia. For the past ten days several West African nations, including Ghana, had refused to let the Bulk Challenge unload its desperate passengers, many of them hungry and sick. But after pressure from the United Nations and others, Ghana allowed the refugees to disembark today. A new camp will be built for them, but Ghana declared that it will not accept any more refugees.