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Marion Jones won Olympic Bronze in the long jump, finishing three inches behind Germany's Heike Dreschler. It was her third medal in these games, but ends her quest for FIVE GOLD medals. Jones has already won two golds -- in the 100 and 200 meters. She still plans to run in two relays tomorrow. In an even bigger surprise, NPR's Eric Weiner reports, Morocco's Hicham el Gerrouj suffered a bitter defeat in the 1500 meters. He'd been virtually unbeatable since getting tangled with another runner and finishing last at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

Austin, Texas online columnist Mike Jasper thinks its time to allow any kind of performance enhancing drug athletes want for the Olympics -- to level the playing field. In his tongue-in-cheek commentary, he advocates equal opportunity for all players.

Noah Adams speaks with sportswriter Stefan Fatsis about the climax of the regular Major League Baseball season. Heading into the last weekend before the playoffs, some playoff slots remain to be settled. The season may need to be extended into next week to decide all the playoff pairings. One thing is certain: this season, teams with the biggest payrolls are not the only temas making it to the playoffs. That, and Fox TV's new 2-point-5-billion dollar contract with Major League Baseball for national broadcast rights should make next year's labor negotiations interesting.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that at this critical time in Yugoslavia, the United States has little influence over events there. For ten years, the U.S. government has focused on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. Now, at a pivotal moment when Milosevic will either be forced out or consolidate his rule, the U.S. finds it has few options.

Jacky Rowland reports from Belgrade that Yugoslav opposition leaders have launched a civil disobedience campaign to persuade President Slobodan Milosevic to recognize Sunday's election victory of Vojislav Kostunica and to cede power. Thousands of Serbs demonstrated again today in downtown Belgrade, and crowds were out in provincial cities, as well. She says although state-run television is showing pictures of Milosevic, still in charge, government officials are not answering phones, and it seems they do not know how to handle the situation. And, though top officers in the army and police are loyal to Milosevic, army soldiers, as well as rank and file policemen, do not support the regime.

This week, entertainment industry executives proclaimed to Congress that they would never again allow young children to be part of the industry's test audience for R-rated films. Satirists Amy Dickinson and Rebecca Flowers pretend to be two 9-year-olds who took part in the screenings.

Each fall, the New York Jets welcome a few lucky fans to a special training camp for women only. It was originally designed to help football widows better understand the game. But Tandaleya Wilder reports most of the women at this year's camp came to improve their own performance on the gridiron.

Commentator Mark Jenkins was a student at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia in 1971. He says the new film Remember the Titans, which is based on events in at Williams High that year, doesn't square with his memory of the school.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that the Taliban, the militant Islamic movement that's taken over most of Afghanistan, has sent a delegation to the U.S. to lobby for international recognition of the Taliban as the country's legitimate government. The Taliban is trying to gain Afghanistan's United Nations seat. It also wants to dilute international criticism in the areas of human rights and terrorism. The Taliban has refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, who's accused of masterminding the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa.

Those on both sides of the abortion debate are saying that whoever wins November's presidential race can have an impact on the availability of RU 486, the abortion drug. But as Julie Rovner reports, there are limits to the influence any president can have on the availability of this drug.

NPR's Mandalit Del Barco reports on how regular bus and rail riders are dealing with the two-week-old public transit strike in Los Angeles. Many of these people are poor, service workers who don't own car. The extra costs of getting to their jobs have left some worried about how they'll pay for rent and groceries.

Robert talks to Geneive Abdo, a correspondent for the Guardian newspaper, about the reform movement in Iran. Abdo says the crackdown on the reformist press has muzzled the ability of the reformers to communicate their ideas with the electorate. She says it proves the real power still lies with the hard-liners, despite recent electoral victories.

Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman was regarded as a bold and risky choice for a vice presidential candidate, the first Jew to appear on a major party's national ticket. Since he was named in August, Lieberman has clearly helped the man who picked him, Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore. But while Lieberman's strong emphasis on his religion and ethnicity has been a plus, it has also generated controversy in some unexpected ways. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

Companies offering new telecom services say they're having trouble reaching many potential customers. They say landlords limit which firms can put equipment into office buildings and apartments, and that deprives tenants of the new services. Landlords say they need to protect their property and that older buildings have limited space available. Landlords collect fees from companies that install equipment. The FCC will soon decide whether landlords have to allow open access to their buildings. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

Satirist Harry Shearer offers his version of a rote television Olympics feature profiling the "courageous young athletes" that compete.

NPR's Mandalit Del Barco reports on the public transit strike in Los Angeles. The shut down of bus and rail service has turned the city's already difficult commutes into a real mess.

David Greenberger reviews Worried, a CD compilation of the blues music of Asie (AY-see) Payton, a Mississippi farmer who died driving his tractor in May of 1997. The CD tracks were intended only to be demos. But Payton never got the chance to record more. (3:45) The CD, Worried is produced by Fat Possum records, catalog # 80326-2.

Commentator Rebecca Flowers thinks its a bad week to be a woman.

Robert speaks with Margaret Ann and Bob Fagen, owners of Margaret Ann Fagen Research. They spent a recent Atlanta Braves game in the ballpark restrooms, counting the number of people who didn't wash their hands after using the facilities. They found that more women wash their hands than men, at least at baseball games.

NPR's Debbie Elliot reports that the national anti-smoking initiative that was created by the tobacco industry's settlement with states is running ads during the Olympics. The controversial ads, spoofs of industry ads, feature body bags to portray tobacco's death toll. The industry says it is being vilified in violation of the agreement. Ad analysts say the ads are effective and reach an unprecedented audience for a public health message.