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NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that Israel's bombing of Lebanon over the past days has had the effect, in part, of shoring up support for Shimon Peres in the upcoming June election.

President Clinton announced Sunday that the United States would be expanding cooperation with Israeli on missile defense. He said that the U-S would promise to provide more intelligence warnings of enemy launches and to step up development of a new laser weapon to shoot down Katyusha rockets. Robert Siegel talks with John Donnelly, who is a reporter for Defense Weekly and has been covering the laser program. Donnelly explains that the program is still being tested but Israel hopes that it will aid in the destruction of the artillery rockerts used by Hezbollah against targets in Northern Israel.

Robert talks to David Armstrong, a reporter for the Boston Globe, about how the Massachusetts Department of Social Services has been allowing convicted criminals to become foter parents. Armstrong has reported that convicted rapists, spouse abusers, and robbers have been approved as foster parents. Today, the department said that it will no longer allow waivers for convicted criminals to take in foster children.

Heavy rains have caused flooding in three Midwestern states. Hundreds of residents who live along the Mississippi have been evacuated from their homes. Robert Siegel talks with East St. Louis mayor Gordon Bush about floods which have inundated his city.

Noah talks with David Lamb, author of "Over the Hills," about his trip across the country on his bike. He began the ride in Virginia and ended it on the Santa Monica pier in California. Lamb describes his junk food diet and pack a day smoking that sustained him for the journey. "Over the Hills: A Midlife Escape Across America by Bicycle," is published by Times Books: NY, 1996.

Linda talks with Erik Larson, a staff writer for Time Magazine, about the illegal firearms market and how Chinese (and other) illegal weapons find a market in the United States. The traders bringing these weapons into the country are selling a large number of them to dealers for the gun shows that tour the nation. Yesterday's seizure of two thousand automatic weapons from China has brought the problem of illegal firearms trading into the national spotlight. (Larson is the author of "Lethal Passage," published in paperback last year by Vintage Books.)

Commentator Alan Cheuse reviews The Book of Secrets by M.G. Vassanji (vah-san-gee). It's the story of a British colonial officer's years spent in East Africa before the beginning of World War I. (Published by Picador)

In the second part of Robert's interviews with religious Jews about their political leanings for the upcoming elections, he visits the West Bank settlement of Betar (beh-TAR). The residents of Betar are mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews who look to their religious leaders for guidance in choosing candidates. He talks to the Greenwalts, a couple with four children, who say that they will probably vote for one of the religious political parties.

New Congressional Budget Office (CBO) numbers suggests the Medicare may be deeper in the red. They've long said it will go broke sooner -- in the year 2001 instead of 2002. Now, others are saying the same thing. An unexpected increase in hospitalizations is only one possible factor. In an election year, this sort of information gets played by Democrats and Republicans, who offer different solutions to the problem. NPR's Joanne Silberner has this report.

Noah Adams talks with our poetry critic Cathy Bowman about Quincy Troupe and his latest book of poetry called Avanlanche. The book is published by Coffee House Press.

Jennifer Griffin reports that funeral services were held today for people who died when Israel bombed a refugee camp in southern Lebanon last week. The deaths helped spur the United States to seek a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah guerillas.

NPR's John Ydstie reports the oil industry is countering statements from politicians about climbing gas prices by pointing to some basic market forces: supply and demand. The oil industry maintains there has been no price gouging and that the oil industry's rate of return is actually lower than average for overall manufacturing.

This first day of May is Labor day for most of the world. From Paris, David Culhane reports that while people are celebrating today with demonstrations, parades and speechs...they are anxious about the future. Unemployment is high, job insecurity is rising and the government is planning to cut social security and other welfare benefits.

Noah and Robert read letters send in from listeners. Listeners can send letters to LETTERS-ATC: 635 Massachussetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001. Or by E-mail to ATC@NPR.org.

The formerly-mismanaged Chicago Housing Authority has been run by HUD --- the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development --- for almost a year now. NPR's Edward Lifson reports that HUD is taking a long-term approach to revamping the city's public housing.

Commentator Marion Winik wonders if her drinking is getting out of hand. The tell tale signs: reading about her alcohol related adventures in a local sports column, and finding solace in a book about alcoholic writers. However, she is comforted by the fact that she is the picture of sobriety compared to her idol, Dorothy Parker.

NPR'S Brooke Gladstone reports on an Austin Texas television station's effort to reduce the violence in its local newscasts. News executives at K-VUE have adopted experimental guidelines for determining whether certain violent pictures or stories should even air. Its local competitors accuse K-VUE of arrogantly filtering the news. Yet the station's newscasts are number one in its market.

Robert remarks on some "non-news" from Eastern Europe which is becoming less and less Eastern. In Poland, a new anti-smoking law took effect last month.

NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports..Majority Leader Bob Dole acknowleges that he trails President Clinton by a wide margin among female voters. But Dole says the gender gap is merely a perception problem and his plan to address it is to emphasize his legislative record.

President Clinton has been testifying on videotape before the Whitewater jury in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is a defense witness, called by his former real estate business partners James and Susan McDougal. The McDougals and Arkansas governor Jim Guy Tucker face fraud charges in connection with federally-backed loans. The president has not been charged. NPR's Jon Greenberg reports on Mr Clinton's testimony.