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NPR'S Derek Reveron reports that the downing of two planes flown by Brothers to the Rescue with the death of four pilots, has strengthened the hand of hard-line Cuban exile groups in Miami. Recently, more moderate voices, advocating negotiation with Fidel Castro, have been assuming a more prominant role in Cuban-exile politics, but since the shoot-down, they are on the defensive, and the hard-liners again enjoy the upper hand.

The National Transportation Safety Board meets this week in Florida to review all data collected about last May's ValuJet crash. Transcripts from cockpit voice recordings reveal that the pilots knew just how much trouble their craft was in. Investigators will also review results of the data analysis to try and repeat the condition that led to the fire that brought down the plane. NPR's Dan Charles reports.

Linda Wertheimer talks with conservative Southern Democrats in rural Northern Florida. Residents Linda spoke with say they intend to vote Republican in the next presidential election, but more out of a sense of default than a sense of active support for Robert Dole. These "angry white men" who were a major force in the 1994 elections, voiced their concerns about welfare and their perception that President Clinton is not a conservative Democrat, but markedly liberal.

Musician Lenny Kaye is perhaps best known as Patti Smith's guitarist. But he's also a music writer, whose work has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Village Voice and Creem. His new book, You Call it Madness: The Sensuous Song of the Croon, chronicles the male singers of the 1930s known for their suave, sophisticated and romantic interpretations of song: Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee and Russ Columbo.

A 27-year-old preacher's daughter who grew up listening to classical music and traveling the world, Birch makes music that reflects her unlikely upbringing. With a jazzy, soulful voice, the classically trained performer sings about imaginary friends and other flights of fancy on her striking debut album, Bible Belt. Hear Birch perform live from the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn.

On her fifth studio album, the neo-soul diva sings often-ambiguous lyrics that move back and forth from her "honey boo" to her career. It's a concept that critic Robert Christgau says is trickier than it appears. While The Sellout might not be a full-scale commercial comeback, it's a spiritual one -- complete with Gray's unforgettable voice, a bit less kink and a whole lot of cheese.

A former one-hit wonder made good, Nada Surf rebounded from an assortment of apparent career-killers to emerge in the '00s as a critically acclaimed and commercially successful powerhouse. Now more than 15 years into its career, Nada Surf has found its voice, and it's as confident as it is winningly upbeat and hopeful. Hear Nada Surf perform live from WXPN in Philadelphia.

The folk singer Ana Egge puts together a relaxed collection of covers on the appropriately titled album Lazy Days. With song titles like "Summer Wastin'" and "It's My Lazy Day," the album meditates on the simple pleasures of leisure time. Egge's has a gorgeous voice that's slightly rough around the edges as she sings warm adaptations to classics by Gene Autry, the Kinks, and other artists.

In "It Ain't Cool," it's not hard to figure out what message Alabama-born blues-country singer Will Kimbrough is trying to impart: "It ain't cool to talk about people when they're not around." To make sure listeners mind his message, he dispenses it in a sultry and understated voice with a bit of bite -- an homage to laidback blues-rocker J.J. Cale.

Elections workers are counting votes cast in Thursday's Afghan presidential election. Early reports suggest voting in the south's largest city, Kandahar, was light. Hardin Lang, an election observer in Kandahar, says that starting at about 3 a.m., gunfire, rocket fire and mortar fire could be heard, adding to an overall sense of tension in the area.

Some Illinois officials are trying to limit where the state's sex offenders can live once they've left prison. The effort follows reports that 10 percent of the state's paroled sex offenders were clustered in mainly low-income areas in and around Chicago's South Side. Diantha Parker of Chicago Public Radio reports.

NPR's Howard Berkes talks with Montanans who know the Freemen holed up on their remote ranch, and with one of the numerous members of out-of-state militias who have flocked to the area to negotiate with the group. And he talks with a Montana Freeman associated with the barricaded group, who tries to explain what it is the anti-government organization stands for.

Today the East Coast's first big snow storm of the year hit, dumping more than a food of snow in some areas and with snow falling as far south as Gerogia. Airports are clogged and some roads are almost impassable. Melissa Block reports from New York about this winter's unseasonal weather and what is in store for the remainder of the weekend.

Reporter Chad Swiatecki, of Michigan's Flint Journal uses a wheelchair. He was assigned last weekend to cover the Al Gore visit to his area. But the auto plant Gore was visiting was not wheelchair accessible, and neither was the bus used by the campaign. The Secret Service would not let Chad follow in his own car. Swiatecki comments on the event.

Noah talks to George Pully, a deacon at the Beulah Christian Church in Zebulon, North Carolina, about a bell that was stolen from his church. It was one of four antique bells stolen from churches and homes in the Raleigh, North Carolina area last weekend. The missing bells are all quite large, weighing between 50 and 1500 pounds.

NPR's Adam Hochberg reports tornadoes and severe storms affected more than six states over the weekend. Overall, at least 33 people were killed and at least 200 were injured. Hardest hit were Tennessee and Alabama. Clean-up and damage assessment are now underway. Thousands are without power in the affected areas.

This is the time of year when the number of illegal border crossings increase dramatically. While beefed up patrols appear to have reduced crossings in some areas, many Mexican are simply finding other points of entry. NPR's David Welna reports on how thousands have pulled down fences and rushed the border near Douglas, Arizona.

Gillian Sharpe reports on the first sentence to be handed down by the United Nations' Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal. A young Croat was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that he had participated in one of the worst massacres in the former Yugoslavia... the slaughter of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, a U.N.-designated safe area.

Two U.S. soldiers are dead after attacks in Baghdad and Baquba, north of the capital. And details are still coming in about a U.S. missile attack in a residential area of Fallujah. About 20 people were killed in that incident. U.S. authorities say they were targeting a terrorism hideout. Hear NPR's Emily Harris.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that the Kurds, who are the focus of the latest clash between Iraq and the US, have been divided for centuries by rival empires, nations and their own tribal allegiances. Analysts maintain that they will remain a source of instability in the area until their dreams of ethnic independence are realized, probably by some form of autonomy within the four nations they straddle.