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Journalist Christopher Kremmer spent 10 years reporting from South and Central Asia, where he developed a love for the carpets made in the region. His new book, The Carpet Wars, celebrates the time he spent with the local carpet merchants and the many souvenirs he acquired. Kremmer and Steve talk about the history and culture behind the area's second largest industry. (Carpet Wars is published by Ecco Press; ISBN: 0060097329.)(8:32)

Jacky Rowland reports on the tense situation in the Presevo Valley of southern Serbia, where ethnic Albanian militants last week killed four Serb policemen. Most of the residents of the region are ethnic Albanians, and the militants want the area annexed to the province of Kosovo. Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica says the fighters are coming over the border from Kosovo into Serbia proper, and he is demanding that NATO troops and UN officials in Kosovo stop them. Kostunica had threatened to send Serbian security forces into the buffer zone along the Kosovo border, if NATO did not curb the attacks by today, but he later postponed the deadline.

Leafy greens aren't easy to come by in the desert, and when the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson welcomed five new elephants, they quickly realized they would need help locating branches for the pachyderms to snack on. So, they put out an open call to area residents. They asked for African sumac, mesquite, mimosa and fig leaves, among other plants. Audie Cornish talks with the zoo's general curator about his crowd-sourcing for elephant snacks.

A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was responsible for some of the flooding during Hurricane Katrina, and ordered the government to pay more than $700,000 to five plaintiffs. Mark Schleifstein, a reporter at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, says of the 470,000 people who filed claims, about 100,000 are in the two areas where this lawsuit appears to have set a precedent. They will, he says, be able to go back to the court and ask for the case to be turned into a class action.

NPR's Chitra Ragavan reports that while investigators of the TWA crash are slowed by the lack of physical evidence, FBI agents are proceeding with other areas of inquiry. In case a bomb is named as the cause, they're putting together lists of terrorist groups who could be involved, as well as lists of potential suspects. And they're looking into other potential connections, such as whether July 17--the date of the crash--could have been a meaningful anniversary date for some group.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from Cuba on Fidel Castro's "doctor diplomacy." Since 1963, Cuba has sent some 25,000 doctors to work in the developing world. But lately Havana seems to be changing its approach: it has opened a special school to train medical students from across Latin America. Cuba is footing the bill for the more than three thousand students in the initial class. After they graduate, they will return to their countries to work in underserved areas.

Israeli forces -- moving towards a June 1st deadline set by their government -- are pulling out of southern Lebanon. Israeli-allied militiamen are also fleeing the area that Israeli forces have occupied for the past 22-years. As they leave, Lebanese civilians are moving in. And Hizbolla forces have taken over 14 villages as the Israeli and SLA forces vacate the previously Israeli-occupied zone. Robert talks with Nicholas Blanford, a correspondent for the Daily Star, an English language newspaper in Beirut, Lebanon, about the situation.

Ley (Lee) Garnett of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports from Portland on the devastation from the week's rain and melting snow. The week's downpour has killed at least three people in Oregon and one in southern Washington state. In Portland, retaining walls along the Willamette River have been holding as the river nears it crest. But the Columbia River on the city's north side continues to rise. Half of Oregon's counties are disaster areas and the governor has asked for federal relief.

A seven-year-old girl trying to become the youngest person to fly across the country died today in a plane crash near Cheyenne, Wyoming. Heather Wessley of Wyoming Public radio reports that Jessica Dubroff was flying a four-seat Cessna with her father and her flight instructor. The plane was leaving Cheyenne in bad weather and crashed in a residential area about a half-mile from the runway. Flyers must be 16 to hold a license under FAA rules.

NPR's Eric Westervelt reports on the so-called empowerment zones that were unveiled...in this incarnation...by the Clinton Administration with big fanfare two years ago. They were touted as a way to use tax credits and social service block grants to revitalize blighted urban areas. Now, some are pointing to Philadelphia, which was one of six sites which qualified for "empowerment zone" money, as an example of how the program has succeeded. But critics say the concept may not be working.

Linda speaks with Preston Gralla, executive editor for the Downloads area of ZDNet's Website, about how to read electronic books. They compare the Palm Pilot, Compaq's new IPAC handheld, and the Rocket e-book reader. The Rocket reader is soon to be replaced by a new generation of e-book reading devices manufactured by RCA. Gralla says that now might not be the right time to buy the devices. (8:00) The ZDNet Website can be found athttp://www.zdnet.com

Linda Wertheimer visits the acclaimed Chanterelle restaurant in the Tribeca area of Manhattan to talk to the chef and owner about his new cookbook, Staff Meals from Chanterelle. David Waltuck has put together the recipes for the meals the staff eats every day at 4:30 before they start serving dinner to customers. The staff meals are home-style in contrast to the sophisticated gourmet food served to the Chanterelle customers. Staff Meals from Chanterelle is written by David Waltuck and Melicia Phillips and is published by Workman Publishing.

Linda talks with Susan Spain about the redesign of the section of Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House that has been blocked to motor traffic. After the Oklahoma City bombing, the street was closed to traffic for security reasons. Spain's plan, currently under review, would make the area into a park which would also allow official motor traffic. Spain is a landscape architect and National Park Service Planner. She leads the team for the "Pennsylvania Avenue at the White House" Long Term Design.

WAY - Daniel talks with two men from Northern Ireland, one Protestant the other Catholic, about the effect yesterday's bombing in London by the Irish Republican Army might have on the peace talks. Liam Maskey, a Catholic, is with the community group 'Intercom' which works with at-risk youth in Catholic neighborhoods in Belfast. And, Mark Armstrong is with the "Youth Stadium Club", a group which works with at-risk youth in Protestant areas of the city. Both men were shocked and disappointed by the bombing but remain hopeful that the peace talks will continue and the ceasefire will resume.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports from Mexico City on efforts to fight the spread of the AIDS virus, especially among the migrant worker population. Six cross-border programs have been established to provide educational and other resources, but researchers say migrant laborers who contract the virus in the United States and then come home to their families, often spread the virus deep inside Mexico, to areas where there are no AIDS programs. The campaign to halt the spread of AIDS also is hindered by cultural taboos that make it difficult to educate the population and change people's behavior.

NPR's Guy Raz reports from Macedonia on new fighting today between ethnic Albanian militants and the Macedonian army. The gun battles took place near the city of Tetovo, deeper inside the country than previous clashes, which have been confined to the area near the border with Kosovo. Macedonian president Boris Trajkovski expressed confidence the army can contain the unrest, although he branded the militants separatists. The rebels say they are fighting for greater rights for Macedonia's ethnic Albanians -- a third of the total population.

Robert Siegel talks with Dave Lawrence, moderator for the Internet discussion group news.announce.newgroups about the midnight deadline for approving a new group focusing on white-power music. As an e-mail campaign rages to stop the creation of this new group, Lawrence explains that this isn't the first such campaign, and won't be the biggest one he's seen. If groups want to avoid a vote of approval, they would merely join the alternative discussion areas for the Internet. But this, according to the proponent of the white-power music group, would mean being relegated to the "fringe" of the Internet.

Northern California is bracing for another winter storm that could bring more precipitation to an area still recovering from the effects of heavy rains and severe flooding. In the Central Valley, officials are worried the rain could cause swollen rivers to break through levees already weakened by the earlier storms. The Red Cross is re-opening shelters and stocking up on food, blankets, and medicine in case more people are forced from their homes by high water. Ancel (AHN-sel) Martinez of member station KQED in San Francisco reports.

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.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports that, before adjournment, Congress voted to limit the development of low power radio. Low power stations broadcast within an area of four to seven miles, and are meant to benefit schools, churches and others in a local community. Broadcaster groups, including NPR, have said those new stations could interfere with currently licensed FM broadcasters. The omnibus spending bill approved by Congress and sent to President Clinton includes a ban on removing the cushions that protect individual FM signals, except in nine test markets.