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Sportswriter Stefan Fatsis tells Linda Wertheimer why NBC, holder of U.S. broadcast rights to the Sydney Olympics, intends to provide only tape delayed coverage. The 15-hour time difference between Sydney and the eastern U.S. and the fact that the network's exclusivity agreement ends after the first broadcast of an event are the main factors. The result is that records set overnight will not be seen in the U.S. till prime time the next day.

Noah interviews Dr. Spotswood Spruance, Professor of Medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, about of two major tests he and others conducted on a vaccine to protect against genital herpes. To the surprise of researchers, the vaccine appears to work only on women who have never had cold sores.

Ralph Nader talks about "Republicrats" who see the world through the same corporate prism. And for generations, Third Party candidates from both the left and the right have said the two major parties are two halves of the same power structure -- different mostly in name and tradition. This year, as the major parties try to appeal to the political center, they often sound alike. Yet it can be argued that the two parties stand for specific philosophies that are farther apart than they have been in half a century. A new poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard has found that voting for one or the other means choosing between distinct outlooks on the issues. NPR's Don Gonyea reports.

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson returned to Capitol Hill today for a grilling by yet another Congressional committee. Today, it was the House Committee on Government Reform. Questions had to do with the high price of gasoline and home heating fuel. NPR's Brian Naylor reports that Richardson -- like Vice President Al Gore -- has warmed up to the idea of releasing some of the national oil reserves as a means of lowering prices.

Track and field gets underway at the Olympics Friday, with American sprinters Marion Jones and Maurice Greene competing in qualifying rounds. But the big track news was made OFF the track. As NPR's Howard Berkes reports, the mysterious French runner Marie-Jose Perec left Sydney a day before her first heat, claiming an intruder forced his way into her hotel room and threatened her. Perec, the defending Olympic champion in the 200 and 400 meters, avoided all public appearances in the weeks before the Games, communicating only through her Website.

Oil shortages in Europe and elsewhere in the world have resulted in price increases in the United States -- where gasoline prices are at a ten year high. The nationwide average price of a gallon of unleaded regular is now nearly a-dollar-sixty -- with prices far higher in some locations. The Presidential candidates have been addressing the issue. Democrat Al Gore today proposed tapping the government's emergency oil reserve as a means of lowering prices before the cold weather arrives. NPR's Madeleine Brand reports.

NPR's Ted Clark talks with Host Linda Wertheimer about a candid new report on race relations in the United States. The report was issued by the State Department to comply with a U.N. convention on racial discrimination, ratified by the U.S. in 1994.

NPR's Phillip Davis reports from Miami that the eight Cubans rescued at sea are now in the US for "medical reasons" and may be allowed to stay. The group commandeered a old Russian-built crop duster yesterday and crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. One died, two others are in the hospital for medical treatment, while the remaining seven have been released into Immigration and Naturalization Service custody.

Mary Ann Akers of NPR News reports that two House Commerce subcommittees today held the latest in a series of hearings to look at the deaths associated with Firestone tire failures on Ford SUV's. Subcommittee members are considering additional regulations, including new penalties for companies that make defective auto products and a requirement that companies alert U.S. regulators when products are recalled overseas.

NPR's John Ydstie reports today is not the first time Al Gore has accused the oil industry of price-gouging. The vice-president first brought up the subject of oil industry profits when gas prices soared earlier this year. Ydstie reports there is scant evidence of oil company collusion, though, and the industry is probably just profiting from OPEC's success in driving up the price of oil.

NPR's Tom Goldman visited several families with children involved heavily in elite youth sports. The kids' schedules are demanding -- often taking them out of state for tournaments. And the costs involved, including fees, private coaching and equipment, can take a toll on the family budget. But these parents told Goldman that immersing themselves in the sport along with their children is rewarding.

Noah talks to Wendy Chavkin, MD, Editor of the Journal of the American Medical Women's Association in New York City, about the likely availability of RU486 and which doctors will prescribe it.

NPR's Jon Hamilton looks at the scientific, legal and political history of RU486 in America.

NPR's Joanne Silberner looks at how the abortion drug RU486 works. She talks to American women who were involved in the studies submitted to the Food and Drug Administration that led to today's approval.

Jean Bethke Elshtain teaches social and political ethics at the University of Chicago. She greets today's decision on RU486 with caution. She worries that the fundamental questions about life and birth and relationships -- the questions that often most divide our society -- are being avoided. She suggests society's search for technological solutions to issues, like a pill to end a pregnancy, helps us avoid dealing with the underlying problems, such as the number of unwanted pregnancies.

Noah and Robert read letters from All Things Considered listeners. This week's topics include the history of the screw (and screwdriver), visions of the Virgin Mary, and the squeezing of baked goods in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. (3:30) You can send e-mail to atc@npr.org or via the post office: Letters, All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 635 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001.

At the Olympics in Sydney, the fabled American women's soccer team lost the gold medal game in overtime to Norway. Marion Jones easily won her second gold medal, in the 200 meter dash. Her win was widely anticipated. But as NPR's Howard Berkes reports, there was a major surprise in the men's 200 meters. Konstantinos Kenteris won the gold medal, becoming the first Greek ever win a sprint medal. It was the first time the US didn't take a medal in the event since 1928.

The Olympics bring out the most devoted collectors: scavengers who scoop up spent shotgun shells, lapel pin traders, and high rollers who shell out 100-thousand-dollars for a gold medal winner's swim trunks. At Sydney Olympic Park, just about anything with five rings or a connection to an Olympic athlete seems to be selling. NPR's Eric Weiner reports.

Debbie Elliott reports that a federal judge dismissed half of the federal government's 1999 lawsuit against major cigarette makers, handing the tobacco industry a partial victory. The judge ruled that the government could not use two health laws to recover billions of dollars in Medicare expenses used to treat ill smokers. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler said the government could proceed with two other claims under federal racketeering laws.

Republicans now have a slim majority of just six votes in the House of Representatives -- and all 435 seats are on the ballot in November. Democrats are hoping to become the majority if they can sweep the close races on the West Coast. One of the most closely watched of these contests is in California's fabled Silicon Valley, ground zero for the micro-chip and personal computer revolution. NPR's Richard Gonzales reports.