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- NPR's David Welna reports on the swirl of scandal surrounding Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo. Charges are being leveled that Zedillo, before he became president, was involved in a case involving suspected corruption.

NPR's John Ydstie reports that an unemployment report released today suggested that economic growth in the U-S is slowing. There had been concern that the growing economy would spark high inflation.

Ursula Hegi commentary. Hegi teaches creative writing, writes fiction, and... critical to both pursuits... she is a voracious reader. Hegi, whose works include "Stones from the River" and "Salt Dancers," seeks out a certain kind of reading, and tells her students to do the same. It is essential, she says, to find a book whose pages suck the reader in, causing him or her to forget the real world altogether.

- NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports that investigators of the downed TWA Flight 800 are comparing the forensic evidence from that crash to the crash of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the crash of a French plane over the Sahara Desert, both of which were downed by terrorist bombs.

Bob Mondello interviews a performance artist who has written an article in the latest issue of the academic quarterly "Theater Magazine." It recounts the months he insinuated himself into various right-wing militia organizations for the purpose of creating performance art. He used disguises and subtrefuges, costumes, voices, false names. He then made films to document his encounters. He is continuing this pursuit, and so elected not to use his real name for NPR's interview, and uses the pseudonym he used for the article -- Blanche Davidian. He talks to Bob about his dual role as activist and artist, about the links between art and social change, politics, and grassroots discussion, and about his technique and performances. (12:30) (S

The fate of a resort condominium on one of North Carolina's barrier islands has become a touchstone of sorts for the debate on whether to build on these fragile, constantly shifting islands -- and whether to save the buildings that fall victim to the hurricanes that sweep across the region. Aileen LeBlanc of member station WHQR in Wilmington, North Carolina reports.

Linda interviews New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley, who moderated a panel discussion on race today .... at a meeting Senator Bradley called the "Unconvention," sponsored by the Human Relations Foundation of Chicago. In their conversation, Senator Bradley called for a new kind of engagement on questions of race; he said that confronting race as an issue in America must involve millions of individual acts. He was critical of politicians for not offering real leadership and real change.

Robert talks with Carole Kismaric and Marvin Heiferman, authors of, Growing Up with Dick and Jane: Learning and Living the American Dream. The authors say the Dick and Jane readers represent an ideal of mid-century American life. Dick and Jane books, illustrated with dreamy watercolors, taught American children how to read from the 1930s through the 1960s. (5:15) (Stations: "Growing Up With Dick and Jane" is published by ScottFor

While the overwhelming majority of black voters vote Democratic, some feel that the Democratic party takes them for granted and does not address all of their concerns. At the same time, the Republican presidential ticket -- Bob Dole and Jack Kemp -- says it will make a special effort this year to reach out to black voters, who have sometimes been written off by the Republican Party. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.

Robert talks with Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a Professor of Communication and the Dean of the Annenberg School for Communications at the University of Pennsylvania. They discuss the impact of speeches made last night at the Democratic National Convention by Vice-President Al Gore and Connecticut senator Christopher Dodd.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports on the debate over how to train and certify the next generation of teachers. An estimated 2 million new teachers will enter the nation's schools in the next decade, and many educators favor national standards and other measures as a way of ensuring that the next generation of teachers is qualified. But others say a state and local approach is more appropriate, and some feel making we need to loosen up the rules for teacher certification as a way of encouraging people to get on the job training in the profession.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that the Pentagon says that the Iraqis are rebuilding air defense sites in southern Iraq that were attacked last week by US cruise missiles, but officials say US overflights in the expanded free flight zone are not endangered. The US, meanwhile, is calling on states neighboring northern Iraq -- Turkey and Iran, mainly -- to receive refugees fleeing the Saddam-backed Kurdistan Democratic Party rout of its rivals.

We check in with nurses and doctors from several Eastern U.S. hospitals to discuss the mini baby boom that is beginning to appear, nine months after the Blizzard of '96 that kept people indoors for a good portion of January and February from Massachusetts to Virginia.

Linda talks to former Astronaut Norm Thagard about the experience of returning to Earth after an extended stay in orbit. Thagard stayed aboard the Mir Space Station last year for over a hundred days. On the eve of Astronaut Shannon Lucid's even longer stay, he comments of bone mass loss, exercise in space and its effects. He says it felt okay to walk, but running was tough for three months.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports from the West Bank on the second day of pitched battles between Palestinian policemen and Israeli soldiers that have killed at least 30 Palesitnians and 11 Israelis. The violent demonstrations that have occurred in virtually every city on the West Bank and in Gaza forced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short a European visit and fly home to proclaim a state of emergency in the territories.

Commentator David Brooks discusses the difference between President Clinton's and Bob Dole's views on school choice. Brooks says that Catholic schools have proven to be especially effective at educating at-risk inner city students, and the needs of these kids should outweigh the concerns of the National Education Association.

Robert and Linda read from listeners' comments. To send a letter to All Things Considered, the address is All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20001. To reach us via e-mail, the address is ATC at NPR dot ORG.

The Democratic National Convention has attracted only a smattering of protests and most of these have been held in small ``official'' protest areas, for which groups had to apply for a city permit. It's a far cry from the thousands of angry protesters, whose confrontations with police in Chicago twenty-eight years ago marked the last Democratic convention in the city. NPR's Scott Simon reports.

Commentator Joan Steinau Lester, like many other gays and lesbians, is going to hold her nose and vote for Bill Clinton in November. She's unhappy about the waffling, and the mixed signals he's sent America's gays -- Clinton says he's for equal rights, but he's been cautious about showing it.

Commentator Marianne Jennings confesses that she has average kids...they don't hold concerts with Luciano Pavarotti, and they don't do flips on the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team. She sometimes feels lazy for not taking them from lesson to lesson, but she realizes that having average kids is a tribute to parents who don't have to live vicariously through their children...and have the inner strength to give a child a childhood.