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Noah Adams talks with Tim Cohen, a political correspondent with Business Day in Cape Town. Cohen has being following the constitutional process in South Africa. Today, South African politicians passed the post-apartheid constitution. The constitution will be phased in between now and 1997. The constitution is loosely based on the our Constitution and has a Bill of Rights that protect basic freedoms. (4:30) -b- 6. FREEBIES ON THE STUMP -- The Democratic Party hopes to raise $11 million at a Washington, DC shindig tonight, just a little less than Republicans hauled in at a gala of their own early this year. What do donors get for the checks? What about voters? Peter Overby reports.

A government report finds that efforts to limit human exposure to toxins aren't helping kids as much as they are helping adults. The report, issued today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that children between the ages of 6-11 are sponging up the chemicals found in cigarette smoke and soft plastic toys. It also found that Mexican-Americans have abnormal levels of the pesticide DDT in their bodies and that pregnant women carry more mercury than expected. NPR's John Nielsen reports that federal officials say they are concerned but not alarmed by the findings.

Laurie Neff reports from Jerusalem on Israel's decision today to go head with the construction of a large housing project in disputed east Jerusalem. That decision was made despite U.S. misgivings and a Palestinain warning of violence. The Har Homa project will place 6,500 homes for Jews in an area claimed by Palestinians as their future capital. Paelstinians see the move as Israel's attempt to solidify its claim over all of Jerusalem before final status talks on the future of the city can be held. Israel says it simply needs more housing for all the people who want to live in Jerusalem, and has pledged to build 3,000 units of arab housing near Har Homa as well.

Political trouble persists for Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS). The White House is holding Lott at distance. A Jan. 6 vote will decide if Lott stays as Senate Republican leader. Many in the party are worried that a continuing focus on Lott's racially insensitive remarks will alienate minorities. NPR's Michele Norris talks to Al Bartell, a member of the Grassroots Leadership Initiative for the Georgia State Republican Party; GOP fundraiser Harold E. Doley Jr.; and Michael Brady, president of the Palm Beach county chapter of the Florida Black Republican Council.

In a case scheduled to go before the Supreme Court on Dec. 6, a group of elite universities, led by Yale Law School, will argue that they should not allow Defense Department recruiters on their campuses. The schools say this is because the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is discriminatory. Commentator Ken Harbaugh is a student at Yale Law School and a former Navy officer. He says that if the Defense Department and Yale do not change their attitudes toward each other, both institutions will lose.

Robert talks to Christopher Andrew, who collaborated with former KGB archivist Vasili Mitrokhin to write the book, The Sword and The Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB. The book details how for 20 years Mitrokhin copied information from top secret documents in the KGB archives, and gives a rare inside view of the soviet spy operation. (7:45) The Sword and The Shield is published by Basic Books, September 1999.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Sarajevo that the results of the race for the three-man national presidency won't be announced until tomorrow. This is the most closely-watched race...the top vote getter will become the first chairman of the rotating presidency. International supervisors said that election day went well, despite some campaigning that was not desirable. There are also some changes that must be made before municipal elections are held.

NPR's Ted Clark reports the State Department has recommended disciplinary action against six employees because of a missing laptop that contained highly classified information. In a related development, one of the nation's top diplomats, Ambassador Stapleton Roy, has decided to retire early. His deputy, Donald Keyser, is among the six employees targeted for disciplinary action designed to address concerns about security procedures at the State Department.

Noah talks with Brian Graunke, a resident of Medford, Oregon who was a victim of identity fraud. He and his wife were tipped off to the problem when Sprint called them to ask about an application for an account that was made in their names. They had not submitted the application. Identity theft has become one of the top concerns of American consumers, according to the Federal Trade Commission. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on the subject yesterday.

Commentator Rawlins Gilliland, a public speaking-consultant and former National Endowment for the Humanities Poet-in-Residence, says other people's music seems to form a soundtrack to his life. It's a constant background din -- as he drives with his top down, talks on his cell phone, stops at a gas station, works out at his gym, visits a park, and finds a birthday party in progress on his own block.

The Senate Armed Services committee questioned Army officials today about allegations that senior members of the service have sexually harassed women under their command. Before the hearing, the New York Times published charges by a retired sergeant major that her then-boss, the top enlisted man in the Army, had harassed her and other officials took no action on her complaints. NPR's Barbara Bradley has a report.

Secretary of State Colin Powell will meet with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to discuss improving security within Iraq. The meeting comes two days after an explosion at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad killed more than 20 people, including the top U.N. envoy in Iraq. Hear retired Gen. William Nash and Nancy Soderberg, former U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

National Hockey League management locks out players over a dispute on salaries. The confrontation may not end until players accept that hockey, as a professional sport, is not a top-tier sport like football and basketball. The league, after years of trying to promote itself as another "big time" sport, wants to reduce its ambitions and its economics. Hear Michele Norris and Wall Street Journal sportswriter Stefan Fatsis.

With the polls showing that Bob Dole is gaining little ground on President Clinton in this year's presidential race, GOP strategists are deciding how to save their congressional candidates from duplicating the top of the ticket's lack of success in appealing to voters. NPR's Phillip Davis talks with Republican state leaders about how they hope to get their voters to the polls to support the party's ideals as well as their congressional candidates. In Texas, for example, Republican strategists are running congressional campaigns that are independent of the presidential race, stressing the negative aspects of what it would be like to have both Congress and the White House controlled by Democrats; in Florida, campaign advisors are focusing on voter turnout rather than on the Dole-Kemp message.

Mexico's top two presidential candidates are each claiming victory in the country's highly polarized election -- and their parties have accused one another of election fraud. An official tally of the contest, in which 30 million Mexicans voted, isn't expected for days. Though sharply divided by ideology, leftist Andres Manual Lopez Obrador and conservative Felipe Calderon are separated by less than one-tenth of one percent.

This week, From the Top comes from San Antonio, Texas. The talented Texans include a 16-year-old baritone from Fort Worth performing Handel and a 16-year-old clarinetist from Duncanville, playing Carl Maria von Weber. And a special guest, the composer and fiddler Mark O'Connor, makes music with all of the kids on today's show. This program originally aired Apr. 4, 2007.

At least 12 people, including five foreign contractors, are killed in a car bombing in Baghdad. Over the past three days, a series of attacks have killed numerous Iraqis, including a senior civil servant and a top official in the foreign ministry. The attacks illustrate the security concerns Iraq's new government faces as it prepares to assume sovereignty June 30. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt.

Gasoline prices jumped nearly 10 cents a gallon in the last week, and forecasters say that drivers could see even higher prices as summer approaches. Prices typically rise in anticipation of the summer driving season, but in 2004, it was mid-May before prices topped the $2 mark. This year, $2-a-gallon gas is but a distant reflection in the rearview mirror; it's $3 a gallon we seem to be closing in on.

In Huntsville, Alabama, From the Top's gifted young musicians include a bassoonist who tests the limit of her instrument; a pianist with a phenomenal memory; a 13-year-old guitarist with a work especially composed for him, and a teenage soprano who uses her substantial voice for both singing and cheering for her favorite sports teams. And a special guest, the accomplished opera singer Angela Brown, performs with two of the young musicians.

The Blueprint 3 is the latest release by rapper Jay-Z; it's the second sequel to one of his best-known releases, 2001's The Blueprint. It's also Jay-Z's 11th solo album in 13 years, making him one of hip-hop's most prolific artists. Reviewer Oliver Wang suggests that, even this far into his career, the rapper is still finding ways to stay on top.