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NPR's John McChesney reports Intel, the world's largest computer-chip maker, is unveling a new generation of its popular pentium processor. The MMX chip will improve the way a computer handles video, audio and graphics, according to Intel officials. The new chip is said to be fully compatible with earlier chip designs and operating systems.

We hear an excerpt from Madeleine Albright's comments before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, where she is in the first stages of the confirmation process for the office of Secretary of State. She talked about why foreign policy matters to all Americans.

Linda talks with Joe Jackson, a pop music correspondent for the Irish Times. They discuss the new CD collection of old Irish hymns called "Faith of our Fathers," which has hit the top of the pop charts in Ireland. (STATIONS: "Faith of Our Fathers," featuring Frank Patterson, Regina Nathan, the Monks of Glenstal Abbey and the Irish Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, is not yet available in the United States. It is expected to be released in March of this year, on the RTE label, catalogue number RTE CD198.) (8:00) ((ST

South Korea's largest labor union has called for a two-day strike to try to force thr government to reject a new law that would allow companies to lay off workers. Thousands of riot police and strikers clogged downtown Seoul today, but negotiations seem to be underway. Robert speaks with the BBC's Charles Scanlon in Seoul, who is observing the situation.

- A group of Muslim women living in the United States has just published a manual aimed at helping their sisters in the Muslim world achieve equality with men. NPR's Margot Adler reports that the manual, which shows how modern human rights declaration are consistent with the koran, will provide a how-to-guide for Muslim women's groups in five different countries to fight for their rights.

NPR's Tovia (TOE-vee-uh) Smith reports on the long suffering fans of the New England Patriots football team, which goes to the final round of the AFC playoffs this Sunday.

Fallout continues from the indefinite postponement of a hearing on House Speaker Newt Gingrich's violations of ethics standards. A Democratic member of the ethics panel has called the announcement a "Thursday Night Massacre," and the casualties are bipartisan consensus and ethics process. Meanwhile, Republicans are calling for a criminal investigation into tape recordings of a cellular phone conversation in which Gingrich is heard discussing plans to manage the public disclosure of the charges against him, an apparent violation of a promise to the committee. NPR's Brian Naylor has a report.

Commentator Lenore Skenazy is outraged by Mattel's voluntary decision to stop making and selling the Cabbage Patch doll that has been eating kids' hair and fingers. Tongue-in-cheek, she wonders if this will lead to the banning of all flesh-eating toys ... some of which she extracts from her imagination.

NPR's Don Gonyea reports that Ford Motor Company has been forced to close three assembly plants, idling some 6,800 workers. The plant closings were made necessary because of a UAW strike at a key parts-manufacturer, Johnson Controls, Inc. The company makes seats for Ford's popular Expedition model. The UAW and Johnson Control are still negotiating, but there were no reports of progress.

A year after the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996 went into effect, regional phone companies are applying to offer long distance service, television stations are preparing to broadcast digital images, and the industry has been swept by an unprecedented wave of enormous mergers. But as NPR's Phillip Davis reports, much of the law is under court challenge -- and it's still not clear how these changes will affect consumers.

This year is the 50th anniversary of Dior's "New Look", the post-war fashion which was anything but new. The couture, padded and cinched and unsexy, was first snapped up by the wives of wealthy Parisian 'egg and butter men' - black marketeers -- then it swept the world. A retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art, a new Dior biography, and of course, Madonna's Evita prompt another look at the silhouette Dior designed with his mother in mind from NPR Correspondent Susan Stamberg.

Linda talks with Chip Toma (TOH-muh), the grounds supervisor for the National Football League. They discuss the grounds crew's race against time at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The staff at Lambeau Field has decided to tear out all the old sod on the football field and install new turf. The problem is that they want to get the field installed in time for the NFC Championship game there on Sunday.

Storyteller Jay O'Callahan tells a tale about love, dancing and miracles. At a young age, Max was told he would never dance again--and he got braces on his legs. His grandmother wasn't willing to accept this and pushed Max to strengthen his legs and mind--she said if you are in love and have a song you can do anything. As a teenager he learned that both these things were true.

State officials across the country heard talk of welfare reform two years ago, and realized how poorly equipped their states were to accept new welfare responsibilities. NPR's John Nielsen reports that governors and legislators instituted new programs to trim costs and now say they are ready to handle the burdens of reform. But some analysts warn that because a strong national economy is fueling much of the improvement, a recession could ruin the states' progress.

Linda speaks with Barbara Berger Opatowsky, the president of the Better Business Bureau of metropolitan New York about the variety of store policies regarding the return of merchandise. Ms. Opotowsky recommends bringing as much documentation about the source of a gift as one can find when returning something to the store of its origin.

Scientists at the Massachussetts Institute of Technology say they've proved that a chemical found in the brains of mice is responsible for turning long-term memories off and on. Some researchers say that the findings, which appear in tomorrow's issue of the journal Cell, could provide new insights into human memory disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. NPR's David Baron reports.

NPR's Tovia Smith reports on a new law requiring ALL Massachusetts businesses to post information about reporting sexual harassment in the workplace. Small businesses say the new law is too expensive for them to comply with...it requires the printing of information for posting, for brochures, and in some cases the employers may even be obligated to pay for awareness classes...and that they are essentially required to post information on how employees can sue them.

Noah talks with Lois Stiverson, manager of Bostwick's True Value Hardware in Chardon, Ohio, about the 33 inches of snowfall they've had since Saturday. Stiverson says they've been selling lots of shovels, snowblowers and batteries.

Ted Clark reports that as the U.S. broadens its war against terrorism, its embassies have begun to monitor how well other governments cooperate with the U.S. anti-terrorism efforts. The data, which many governments would rather remained confidential, will be published in the State Department's annual report on terrorism.

Researchers have found the region that is likely to contain a gene that's responsible for prostate cancer, the most common cancer among men. While they haven't isolated the gene itself, knowing its location will enable researchers to develop a genetic test for the disease, and should lead in short order to identifying the gene itself. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.