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Robert talks to Dr. Sa'eb Erakat, the chief Palestinian negotiator and the Minister of Local Government for the Palestinian authority. He explains why the opening of the tunnel near the Temple Mount sparked the Palestinian dissent.

Former NPR newscaster and Washington DC producer Rich Adams died late yesterday at age 53. The exact cause of death has not been determined. Adams worked at NPR from 1971-74. He went on to produce the programs "Agronsky and Company" and "Inside Washington" at WUSA-TV. He wrote a column called "EMS" for FIREHOUSE magazine. Adams was a long-time emergency medical technician. Linda Wertheimer and Susan Stamberg discuss the career and influence of Rich Adams.

Commentator Don Eberly says there are a couple of reasons for this year's voter apathy. One is that campaigns rely too heavily on partisan attacks; the other is that people expect both too little and too much from politics. They expect too much when they think government can solve all their problems, and they expect too little when they settle for policy jargon, rather than a compelling vision of national renewal. Politicians need to do a better job pointing the way out of the nation's social crisis---and they should debate issues out of genuine regard for the common good.

"Cartoongate" is a new video release of old cartoons about presidential elections. The films go back as far as 1944 with a selection directed by Chuck Jones (of Bugs Bunny fame) called "Hell-bent for Election" - a political allegory depicting FDR as a diesel train, racing a rival train championed by right-wingers. Other selections include Eisenhower spots produced at Disney studios, a Reagan satire made in 1984, and a Popeye vs. Brutus fight to get Olive to the polls. Neil Rauch reports on the medium that packed a message with a punch.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports on Republican presidential hopeful Bob Dole's campaign trip to New Jersey today, where he talked about his 15 percent tax cut proposal. He was accompanied by N.J. Governor Christine Todd Whitman, whose own tax cut proposal three year's ago helped her with a come-from-behind victory on election day.

NPR's Peter Overby reports on today's release of an interim report from the House Ethics Committee into allegations against House Speaker Newt Gingrich. An investigative subcommittee has been looking into the relationship of GOPAC, Gingrich's former political action committee, to a college course that Gingrich taught from 1993 to 1995.

An appreciation of the songwriting talent of Ted Daffan (DAH-fan), one of honky tonk's pioneers. He played the steel guitar... and in 1934 he signed on with The Blue Ridge Playboys and started writing songs, including the first trucker number "Truck Driver's Blues." He wrote other honky tonk hits for various artists.

How does the venture capital process work? How important are venture capital firms in sparking entrepreneurial activity? Chris Arnold profiles one influential Silicon Valley firm, The Mayfield Fund.

1996 is the 75th anniversary of the Filofax...the small, organizing notebook that, for some, has replaced the personal secretary. British writer Michael Bywater has had a love affair with the Filofax...loving the look and feel of the organizer---and fantasizing about everything that his Filofaxes could do for him. But it's been a turbulent relationship.

As a public service, NPR is participating in a program with other television and radio news outlets which is providing free airtime to the two major-party candidates in the upcoming Presidential election. These messages come directly from the two campaigns and are presented in an unedited form. Tonight's message comes from Republican candidate Bob Dole.

Thirteen All Things Considered commentators narrate a spooky story they collaborated on. It's a story of a lonely chicken salesman and his voyage of self-discovery. The story takes him on an eerie train ride, to a farmyard populated by bizarre poultry and Yiddish-speaking farmers. The authors passed the story around by e-mail and fax, chapter by chapter. They are Alan Cheuse, Bailey White, Leon Wynter, Laurie Anderson, Andrei Codrescu, Bill Harley, Daniel Pinkwater, Joyce Maynard, Bob Garfield, Amy Dickinson, Teller, Marion Winik and Kevin Kling.

Pan Am Flight 21 from New York to Miami took off on schedule this morning. Nothing unusual there... except the name of the airline. Pan Am is back in the air again today after going out of business in 1991, the victim of years of mismanagement and a terrorist bombing. The new investors who bought the right to use the Pan Am name are hoping they can use that name to succeed against heavy competition. NPR's Jim Zarroli has a report.

The Burmese military government detained more than a hundred pro-democracy activists and blocked all roads to democracy movement-leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house today, to keep a meeting of the National League for Democracy from taking place. Governments around the world are watching the situation closely and are concerned about the apparent deterioration of the situation in the Burmese capital of Rangoon. The BBC's Jonathan Miller has this report.

President Clinton began a three-day campaign swing today that will take him to Missouri, Colorado, Arizona and California. Today in Kansas City, the president addressed the annual meeting of the Southern Governors' Association and said that the welfare reform legislation he recently signed will only be successful if states and businesses can work together to create jobs. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

More than a decade after a lawsuit charging Dallas with racism in its public housing policies, public housing units will soon be built in Dallas' white suburbs for minorities. NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports that while some white homeowners worked to forge a compromise on the project, others remain angry about having public housing in their neighborhood.

Linda talks with Andy Kohut, the director of the Pew Research Center for People and the Press, about the latest results of the Center's polls, which indicate a solid lead for Bill Clinton in the upcoming presidential race, and a small gain for Congressional Democrats in local races.

Daniel talks with the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Rep. Donald Payne of New Jersey. The C-B-C is holding it's annual meeting here in Washington D.C. Rep. Payne says Black voters are upset with President Clinton this election year, but aren't about to vote in large nubers of Republican Candidate Bob Dole.

NPR's Melissa Block reports that with the New York Yankees in the World Series for the first time since 1981, Yankee fans are thrilled. Some optimistic ticket-seekers were still waiting in line today outside Yankee Stadium. Scalped tickets, many of them counterfeit, are being sold for hundreds of dollars; ticket brokers are getting as much as $1800 for box seats. Souvenir stands are doing landmark business on Derek Jeter t-shirts and Yankees caps. And most fans say owner George Steinbrenner should quit talking about moving the team, and leave the Bronx Bombers in the Bronx, in the House That Ruth Built.

On election day, voters in many states will be asked to check several boxes on their ballots for state judges. Most people won't know much if anything about the candidates. And that's a problem, as NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports. Critics of the practice of electing judges say justice and politics are a dangerous mix. But the candidates say raising money and pleasing voters doesn't affect their objectivity.

This evening, NPR News will begin to feed unedited campaign messages produced by the Clinton and Dole campaigns to make use of the free air time offered by a number of television and radio outlest. In today's segment, we'll air segments by both President Clinton and challenger Bob Dole.