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Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan said today that surging oil prices bear close attention because they have the potential to disrupt the nation's longest ever economic expansion. As NPR's John Ydstie reports, Greenspan said higher oil prices have not sparked a new round of inflation, but that possibility still exists, especially given low inventories and tensions in the Middle East. He noted that federal budget surpluses have aided the expansion, but added that government's propensity to spend may mean smaller surpluses in years to come.

Debbie Elliott reports that World Health Organization hosts two days of hearings, beginning today in Geneva, on first draft of international treaty on tobacco control. The goal is to get countries to do such things as ban cigarette advertising and limit sales to adults only.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Paris on the Chinese-born writer Gao Xingjian, who was honored today with the Nobel Prize for Literature. Gao -- the first Chinese writer ever to win the literature prize -- has been living in self-imposed exile in France since 1987. The Swedish Academy honored him for his novels and plays about the struggle for individuality in mass culture.

In the past ten years, one third of the executions in the United States have been carried out in the state of Texas. Since 1924, executions in Texas have taken place in the Walls Unit in Huntsville. The Warden of that prison, Jim Willett, narrates a documentary titled Witness to an Execution. It includes first hand accounts from the men and women who participate in and witness executions as part of their jobs. Guards, chaplains and reporters talk about their work -- detailing what occurs in the minutes before, during and after the execution. The prison employees say they do the job because the vast majority of citizens want it done. Most are affected by the work. Some reach the breaking point and find they can no longer work in the system.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr takes a look at the evolution of George W. Bush's foreign policy positions, in light of last night's debate.

Robert talks to Patrick Clawson, Director for Research at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and then with Ze'ev Schiff, a military analyst for the daily Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, about a call by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak for a "unilateral separation" of Israelis and Palestinians. They discuss the pros and cons of the proposal. Clawson says separating Israelis and Palestinians would bring stability to the region, while Schiff says separating the two peoples is practically impossible, and might not end the violence.

NPR's Steve Inskeep at the Pentagon reports U.S. officials are continuing an investigation into yesterday's terrorist attack on a navy destroyer in the Arabian port of Aden. The wounded sailors and the bodies of those killed in the blast are being flown home.

Robert talks with Jacob Weisberg, Chief Political Correspondent for the online magazine, Slate, about two political ads that are dry, side-by-side comparisons of the candidates' tax and spending plans. Weisberg says that this is a carry over from the Democratic convention, when Al Gore was seen to have succeeded by sticking with policy. Two other ads -- more elaborately produced with musical scores -- aim to leave the impression that their candidate is warm and inclusive while the other candidate's policies are exclusionary. (6:30) Slate magazine can be found on-line at http://slate.msn.com

In Minnesota, a first-term Republican is facing an uphill battle in his bid for re-election to the U.S. Senate. Polls show Senator Rod Grams running behind his wealthy Democratic challenger, department store heir Mark Dayton. Grams' seat is considered one of the most vulnerable in a Senate where Republicans currently hold only a slim majority. NPR's David Welna reports from Saint Paul.

The second debate between Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore was more polite than the first, but there were contentious moments. Gore criticized the Texas governor's record on health care and hate crime legislation, citing statistics from Bush's home state. Robert talks to Dave McNeely, political columnist for the Austin American Statesman. He joins us by phone from Austin, Texas.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden in the Gaza Strip reports on some of the victims of the past two weeks of clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinian protestors. Even in grief, many of the families of the slain Palestinians say the uprising must continue.

Linda and Robert read letters from All Things Considered listeners. (2:45) Send e-mail to: atc@npr.org or traditional mail to: Letters, All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 635 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20001.

This year's Miss America Pageant is undergoing an overhaul. The stage sets, the swimsuit competition and the selection of the judges is all new. One of the most radical of changes is the music. There She Is, the song made famous by Bert Parks, has been redone in a techno style. Robert talks with Jeff Margolis, the producer and director of this year's pageant, about the changes to this year's show.

Thousands of people responded to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan's call to the Million Family March today on the National Mall in Washington. The gathering marks the fifth anniversary of the Million Man March. Unlike the previous event, organizers invited women, as well as people of all races and religions. The audience listened to speakers address the glories of family life and the dangers to families, including drug abuse and racism.

Robert talks with Edward Wessex, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth, about his new project Crown and Country III. It's a 6-part series that begins airing this evening on public television. Edward Wessex wrote, produced and directed the series which explores British sites and their relation to the monarchy through the ages. (7:30) Find more information on the internet at http://www.pbs.org/whatson/press/fall/crown_city.html

NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that two of the nation's largest oil companies are merging. Chevron is acquiring Texaco in a stock swap valued at more than 35-billion dollars. The deal announced today is seen as an answer to other recent mergers in the oil industry, including the mergers of Exxon and Mobil and British Petroleum with Amoco. The new company will be called Chevron Texaco and will be headquartered in San Francisco.

In the Port of Aden, Yemen, divers are searching water-filled areas of the U.S.S. Cole for bodies of the crew members caught in last week's explosion. They're using metal cutters to clear their way through the wreckage. The Defense Department says a small boat armed with explosives rammed the side of the Navy Destroyer in a terrorist attack, killing 17 sailors. Noah talks to John Burns of The New York Times, who is stationed in Yemen, about the ongoing search for victims, the investigation into the attack, and the cooperation of the Yemeni government.

Kate Seelye in Beirut reports Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas are now holding another Israeli captive, in addition to the three soldiers seized earlier this month in a border ambush. Hizbollah's leader says the fourth captive is an Israeli intelligence agent. The Israeli government says he is a businessman.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, where the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are meeting with President Clinton and other world leaders in a bid to halt the continuing violence in the West Bank and Gaza.

Like many states, California is turning up the heat on its public schools with tough new policies designed to force them to improve. In the first of a series of stories, Richard Gonzales looks at one San Francisco Bay-area school's struggle to turn itself around.