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NPR's Michele Kelemen reports from Moscow that President Vladimir Putin said today he feels guilty and responsible for the sinking of submarine Kursk in the Barents Sea. He said Russia's defense minister, navy chief and commander of the Northern Fleet had all offered to resign, but he did not accept their resignations. Putin said there would be no rush to assign guilt until the facts of the accident are known. Yesterday, family members of the 118 sailors who died on the Kursk grilled Putin for hours about his handling of the crisis. Little of the meeting was shown on television. Lawyers for the Kursk families are threatening legal action against the government over the Kursk disaster.

NPR's Richard Knox reports the National Institutes of Health has announced new guidelines allowing federally funded researchers to perform experiments with cells taken from human embryos. Research with embryonic cells is controversial. Scientists say cells taken from human embryos may be helpful in treating many serious diseases, including Parkinson's and diabetes. But some people have moral objections to the research because it involves destroying a human embryo. The NIH guidelines attempt to strike a balance by insisting that federally funded scientists can only use cells taken from embryos that are left over from fertility treatments -- embryos that would otherwise be thrown away.

Susanna Capelouto of Peach State Public Radio reports on a plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce the flow of the Chattahoochee River to protect Atlanta's drinking water supply. The plan has upset those who live downstream. Because of a long regional drought, the Corps wants to hold the water in Lake Lanier, which is the main reservoir for Atlanta. Environmentalists fear that plan will prevent aquatic life below the dam from getting enough water in the river to survive the dry conditions.

NPR's Adam Hochberg reports on an agreement between the country's largest pork producer and the state of North Carolina to reduce pollution from manure lagoons.

Koreans living in this country watched with mixed feelings earlier this month when South Korean families were briefly reunited with their North Korean relatives after 50 years. There are no diplomatic relations between communist North Korea and the United States, and currently U.S. the government does not offer assistance to Korean-Americans seeking reunification with their families. Host Jacki Lyden visits the Korean Central Presbyterian Church in Vienna, Virginia, where she speaks to Koreans who hope the U.S. government will change its policy and begin assisting them in trying to locate their lost relatives.

Host Jacki Lyden speaks to reporter Sherry Devlin of the Missoulian newspaper in Missoula, Montana, about fires that are still burning out of control in western states. Almost six million acres have already been blackened this summer, with another one-and-a-half million still burning.

Last week, the National Institutes of Health issued long-awaited guidelines that will allow scientists receiving federal funds to study stem cells taken from frozen embryos. The embryos used will only be those that are formed as a result of in-vitro fertilization, and are then abandoned at private clinics. Their use has been a deeply-contested issue. Host Jacki Lyden discusses the ethical concerns over this type of research with Dr. Arthur Caplan, Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennyslvannia.

This summer the World Health Organization rated the French healthcare system best in the world. Instead of crowing, French researchers questioned the methodology of the WHO study. The high cost of the health system has plagued the French government for a decade. Still, as NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Paris, if you have the misfortune to get sick, France is a good place to be.

Irish author, playwright and comedian Brendan O'Carroll speaks to host Jacki Lyden about his best-selling Agnes Browne trilogy, comprised of The Mammy, The Chiselers, and The Granny. The entire set is now available in U.S. The Angelica Houston film adaptation of The Mammy, called Agnes Browne, is available on video this month. (Putnam Penguin Publishers, 2000)

This is a great weekend to be selling used furniture in Burlington, Vermont. About 12,000 college students flood the area this time of year, and like most students on a budget, they are looking for an affordable way to decorate rooms and shared houses. Host Jacki Lyden speaks to Todd Myers, co-owner of Myers New & Used Furniture, about the annual boom in furniture sales.

Commentator Jonathan Kaplan surprised a lot of people when he quit his day job to train full-time for a triathlon. He tells us about his decision.

Texas Governor George W. Bush continued his swing through the Midwest today, saying he is the candidate who will help middle class families. From birth to retirement, the Republican presidential nominee says he is looking out for working Americans. Bush made that appeal in a neo-natal ward yesterday, a school today, and in an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's daytime talk show. NPR's Anthony Brooks is traveling with the Bush campaign.

A note on some of the little known candidates for the White House in this year's election.

Host Jacki Lyden speaks with James Perkins, the first African-American mayor of Selma, Alabama. The defeated mayor, Joe Smitherman, was the man who called out the National Guard on civil rights protesters in 1965.

NPR'S Jennifer Ludden reports on the revival of a radio program in Israel that seeks to reunite Holocaust survivors. "The Department for Seeking Relatives-The Next Generation" is enjoying phenomenal popularity since it was launched earlier this summer.

Women are competing in Olympic triathlon for the first time and their race will determine the first medal winners of the Games. As NPR's Tom Goldman reports, the competition begins at the foot of the Sydney Opera House. Swimmers will plunge into the chilly waters of the harbor and then bike and run around Sydney's picturesque central business district.

Boeing has agreed to redesign the rudder system of its 737. The jet's rudder has been studied as the possible cause of two fatal crashes in 1991 and 1994. The Federal Aviation Administration had mandated three changes in the 737 rudder controls earlier, and officials report no rudder problems since they were implemented. The FAA says the latest changes are meant to take what an agency spokeswoman calls an "extremely safe" plane to the "next level of safety." NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports.

Linda talks to Andy Kohut, Director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, about the most recent survey on voter attitudes towards the presidential campaign. The poll shows more voters concerned about issues rather than personality. Gore is rating higher on the issues than Bush, even among some Republicans.

Charles Haynes and Oliver Thomas of the First Amendment Center have developed a process known as the 3R Projects: Rights, Responsibility and Respect. The program is designed to educate teachers and administrators about what is and isn't allowed under the First Amendment, so that issues of religious freedom and free speech can be resolved before they turn into lawsuits. NPR's Mandalit DelBarco reports.

The Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington is moving its archives. Thousands of rare recordings are being carefully packed up and sent to their new home. The collection is an eclectic mix of Americana, consisting of 34 years of recordings from the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the catalog of Folkways Records. All Things Considered Director Bob Boilen went to visit the collection and archivist Jeff Place as he boxes up some of America's great musical treasures.