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Safety advocates today called on Ford Motor Company and Japan's Bridgestone Corporation, makers of Firestone tires, to pull certain models of truck tires off the market. Analysis of accident statistics show sport utility vehicles with these tire models are several times more likely to be involved in road crashes than similar SUV's with different tires. NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports. (4:00) Please note: The US Department of Transportation consumer hotline number to report tire incidents is 1-888-327-4236.

A new study shows the number of women and girls has surpassed the number of men and boys using the Internet. We hear some female students at Oakland Technical High School in Oakland, California talk about the sites they like to visit.

Commentator and musician John Paul talks about playing Trio Sonatas by J.S. Bach on A Lautenwercke (LOW-ten-work) -- a harpsichord with gut strings that give it the sound of a lute. (3:45) {STATIONS NOTE:} John Paul plays Lautenwercke with Shawn Leopard on a CD entitled "Johann Sebastian Bach: The Complete Trio Sonatas," from Lyrichord Discs Inc. Catalog number LEMS-8045. Copyright 2000.

The governor of Montana is expected to announce today the closure of vast areas of public land in the southwestern corner of the state. Nearly a million acres are blackened across the West as firefighters try to keep up with the worst wildfire season in fifty years. Kathy Witkowsky reports from Missoula, Montana.

Wireless phone and data service providers are in need of more "airwave real estate." As the number of customers for their products increases, wireless companies are ready to pay big money for use of the public airwaves. NPR's Larry Abramson reports the government is preparing to auction more frequencies. But there's a catch -- they're being used.

It now appears there will be two Reform Party conventions getting underway tomorrow in Long Beach, California. The party had planned to nominate its presidential candidate this week, but a preliminary meeting on delegate selection deteriorated, leaving a deep division among party activists. Noah talks to NPR's Andy Bowers.

Advances in medicine have made it possible for very small pre-term babies to survive. But these infants who survive still face high risks of developing disabilities. A study published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine puts some hard numbers to the rates of pre-term disabilities. This will help doctors and parents understand, at least statistically, what a baby's chances are for normal development. NPR's Allison Aubrey has this report.

Commentator Elissa Ely goes with her little girl to buy underpants. The three-year-old knows exactly what she wants. Dwarf underpants. Grumpy specifically. She has made her choice, and there is no changing her mind.

Noah talks with Phil Whitten, the Editor of Swimming World Magazine, who is covering the Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis. He joins by phone, poolside, to talk about new swimsuits, which are intended to make swimmers faster. The Olympic Committee had approved them, but several countries have objected, so they will re-evaluate that decision.

Noah talks to Stacy Jessop, a teacher at Corvallis Middle School in CorvalLis, Montana, about being evacuated from her home to avoid an oncoming wildfire. She's now staying at a Red Cross shelter at Westview Middle School in the town of Hamilton, Montana. She says she could hear the fire roaring nearby as she fled her house with her family. She also describes an effort to retrieve her wedding ring and her family's pets.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that the presidential campaign would restrain a more candid Defense Department from calling a halt to the development of a national missile defense system.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Corsica that a descendant of the most famous Corsican of all -- Napoleon Bonaparte -- is now running for mayor of the French island's capital, Ajaccio (ah-ZHAHK-see-oh). Ironically, the great-great-great-great-grand nephew of the emperor, Prince Charles Napoleon, is a political unknown.

In the final installment of a three-part series on the Sicilian Mafia, NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Palermo that many Sicilian women are playing a more assertive role in their society. Long relegated to the shadows of a society steeped in religion, superstition and machismo, Sicilian women have now joined the battle against the Mafia.

All Things Considered Host Robert Siegel is in Philadelphia where the Republican Party convention opened today. He reports that the GOP goal is for a largely controversy-free meeting to demonstrate party unity. That plan got off to a good start today as the party passed its platform with little dissent.

The Republican convention that began today, and its Democratic counterpart that begins in two weeks are underwritten by taxpayer financing. Each major party gets $13.5 million for its four-day nominating extravaganza. The public funding was supposed to fee the parties from their dependence on private sponsors for these events. But the parties have found ways to accept private donations as well. NPR's Peter Overby reports the conventions are now more elaborate and expensive than ever.

Youth Radio reporter Amit Paley speaks to young Republicans at this year's convention. The GOP is drawing more and more people between the ages of 18 and 24. Many are drawn by the parties position on taxes and social security---others are hoping to be a moderating force on the social issues.

Robert talks to Jack Randorff, the acoustical engineer in charge of sound at the Republican Convention. It's Randorff's job to make sure everyone at the convention -- and perhaps more importantly, the broadcast audience -- can hear the sounds of the gavel, and the voices of the speakers. (2:30)NOTE: MUSIC HEARD HERE WAS THE ESKIMO "MOUTH BOW" VERSION OF THE "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED" THEME, PLAYED BY JOHN PALMES OF JUNEAU, ALASKA

At the University of Dayton today, George Bush addressed one of the biggest crowds of his campaign, more than 3,000 people. He talked about education, social security, strengthening the military, and promoted his wife Laura's speech tonight to the Republican National Convention. After the rally, Bush rode with Mrs. Bush to the airport to see her off to Philadelphia. NPR's Don Gonyea is traveling with the campaign, Linda talked with him this afternoon.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that George W. Bush will have to mask his true colors if he is to emerge from the Republican National Convention with the support of both the overwhelmingly conservative delegates and the more moderate general public.

NPR's Larry Abramson looks at the FBI's controversial Internet eavesdropping device, known as "Carnivore." Twenty-eight members of Congress have called on the FBI to stop using Carnivore because, depending on how it is programmed, it has the potential to invade the privacy of innocent citizens. But, if programmed to delete information unrelated to its search, a Carnivore tap on Internet communications can be less intrusive than court-approved wiretaps on telephones.