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Senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that President Clinton's words about smaller federal government and greater state power have not matched his recent actions.

It's a battle for which city has the hottest New Year's Eve celebration. In New York's Times Square, police estimate a half million people will line the streets in a celebration complete with search lights, lazer beams and 3000 pounds of confetti. But in Las Vegas, 200,000 visitors are expected to celebrate and the big moment will come at 9 pm, with the "implosion" of the Hacienda Hotel. Rooms at adjacent hotels with good views have been booked for months, and "implosion parties" are planned. NPR's Margot Adler reports.

Flying tourists over the Grand Canyon is big business. But the federal government now says it's too noisy, and has decided to restrict where, when and how often planes and helicopters can cruise over the West's top tourist attraction. NPR's Howard Berkes reports that neither environmentalists nor tour companies are happy with the compromise regulations.

Critic Bob Mondello picks the best movies of the year, and surprise! "Twister" isn't one of them. He says that the most interesting films of the year actually were about disasters...just not the natural kind.

Heart disease is one of the main killers of African-Americans, who have a higher mortality rate than whites. But there are variations in the occurrence of heart disease among African-Americans from different regions of the country and different parts of the world. Those who immigrated to New York from the South had a much higher death rate from heart disease, and blacks from the Caribbean had a much lower rate...a lower rate even than whites. NPR's Joanne Silberner says the report suggests that factors ranging from diet to cultural and social conditions are more important than genes.

Critic Bob Mondello reports on the "indefinite postponement" of the Broadway premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest musical, "Whistle Down the Wind." This latest problem with a Lloyd Webber musical has many people asking if Sir Andrew's lost his touch. Mondello says that Lloyd Webber's overdue for a monster hit...and not to count him out just yet.

Robert talks with Stephen Linton, chair of the Eugene Bell Foundation and a research associate at Columbia University, about the defection of Hwang Jang Jop (HWAHNG JAHNG JOPP) from North Korea. They discuss his role in the North Korean government, and what his defection means politically.

After appearances by Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin before House and Senate committees yesterday and today, the parameters of the budget debate are beginning to emerge. There's likely to be agremeent on changing the way the Consumer Price Index is calculated, for example, but disagreement over a capital gains tax. Still, NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports that this budget negotiation is likely to be much easier than in previous years.

The World's small tribal languages are disappearing; of the 174 native american languages in the U.S., all but twenty are currently endangered. Reporter Mary Losure, of Minnesota Public Radio, visits the Mille Lacs reservation in central Minnesota where the Ojibwe are using money from gambling to develop a new program of teaching language to their children. The kids are learning Ojibwe on computer and by singing popular songs written especially for them.

Vice President Al Gore met with the families of airline crash victims today and said the airline industry is making an effort to deal with their concerns. Seven US airlines have agreed to quickly hand over passenger lists to the government after crashes of international flights. Also, the National Transportation Safety Board now has the authority to deal directly with families. The NTSB used that authority following last night's fatal collision of two airplanes in Quincy, Illinois. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports.

From Jerusalem, Laurie Neff reports on a new Israeli airstrike in Lebanon's Bekaa (beh-KAH) Valley, as a major debate on the wisdom of Israel's occupation of a "security zone" in southern Lebanon reaches a crescendo. The debate began in the wake of a helicopter crash in which 73 Israelies died. Some critics now say that the government should withdraw the troops it has maintained in Southern Lebanon since 1978. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is opposed to a withdrawal; many, including some from his own party, believe occupation of the Lebanese border area is no longer worth the cost in Israeli lives.

Wilson was a pioneer in photomicrography ...that was when he was a farm kid fooling around with a hand-me-down microscope and an old bellows camera in the 1880's. His greatest distinction, though, was coming up with the theory that no two snowflakes are alike. Harriet Baskas visited the Jericho, Vermont, Historical Museum, which devotes half of its collection to "The Snowflake Man" and his photographs.

Some of the most common diseases in the United States are sexually transmitted: syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and hepatitis. But they're difficult to track and to treat. About a fourth of the 12 million cases that occur each year affect adolescents. The most serious consequences are born by women of child-bearing age who may become infertile or develop cancer as a result of untreated infections. NPR's Vicky Que (KWAY) reports that an Institute of Medicine study concludes that not enough is being done by either the private or the public sector to prevent these infections.

National Transportation Safety Board officials are investigating the collision of two airplanes that occurred last night at an airport in Quincy, Illinois. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports that the fire from the collision left little behind, but earlier today federal officials located a cockpit voice recorder from one of the planes.

NPR's Richard Harris reports on a new study showing that women who eat a high-sugar, low-fiber diet greatly increase their risk for diabetes. But the American Diabetes Association said the study was flawed because it failed to find a link between diets that are high in fat and the development of diabetes. The study appears in tomorrow's Journal of the American Medical Association.

NPR's Tovia Smith reports on a move by the state of Massachusetts to require high school students to pass a 'GED' test before receiving a diploma. The equivalency test is usually administered to dropouts or prisoners trying to get a diploma but some in the state want to use it as a check on what students are learning in their schools.

From Moscow, NPR's Andy Bowers reports that Russian President Boris Yeltsin has appeared on television, fifteen days after heart bypass surgery. He said he is in what he called "a fighting mood". He also told Kremlin officials they will be held accountable for their actions while he has been away.

The Hubble Space Telescope has taken the first clear pictures of distant galaxies containing quasars. Quasars are the most violent events in the universe...and astronomers are surprised to discover that they come from rather ordinary looking galaxies. This discovery is forcing scientists to rethink their theories about quasar formation. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

NPR'S MaryKay Magistad reports that Secretary Warren Christopher met today with China's top leaders to forge a better relationship between the United States and China. Though there was no official statement made, progress was made on several issues, including nuclear non-proliferation.

Music reviewer Tom Manoff has been swept away by a new recording of Alexander Borodin's String Quartet Number Two. Many people may have heard some of the familiar melodies in the musical "Kismet." Manoff reminds us that the musical was composed 70 years after the death of Borodin, and says that this new performance of the composer's work by the Takacs Quartet is magnificent.