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- President Clinton announced today he is convening a summit of Middle Eastern leaders in Washington early this week to calm the latest round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting and to put the Middle East peace process back on track. NPR's John Neilsen reports on the political sensitivities surrounding the summit and the rival Israeli and Palestinian concepts of what conssitutes peace.

NPR's John Ydstie reports on a volatile day of trading on Wall Street, but the selloff that started in Asia and spread to Europe did not have much effect in New York today. Markets around the world saw stock values plunge on remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan that hinted at Federal Reserve concern about "irrationally exuberant" markets.

NPR's John Ydstie reports the unemployment rate edged slightly higher in September...and now stands at 5.2%. Labor Department figures released this morning show an economy that's cooled considerably since June. Wall Street was surprised by a decline in business payrolls, which declined by 40,000 in September.

There's a new cd by the Hilliard Ensemble, singing a compostition by Estonian-born composer Arvo Part. The music is based on a series of 24 prayers...one for each hour of the day...written by St. John Chrysostom. Music critic Tom Manoff says there is magic buried deep in the music. (3:30) (S

NPR's John McChesney reports Intel, the world's largest computer-chip maker, is unveling a new generation of its popular pentium processor. The MMX chip will improve the way a computer handles video, audio and graphics, according to Intel officials. The new chip is said to be fully compatible with earlier chip designs and operating systems.

NPR's John Burnett joins host Steve Inskeep from the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, where NASA missions are directed and its people are considered to be friends and family.

Something was "fishy" at last summer's bass tournament in Monticello, Ind. Would-be champion angler Danny Engleking pleaded guilty this past week to using substitute fish from an underwater cage. Host Steve Inskeep speaks with environmental officer John Raines, who hooked Engleking in a videotaped sting operation.

NPR's John Nielsen reports on the long-awaited new rules from Environmental Protection Agency that will significantly reduce pollutants from diesel fuel. The EPA says the limits will save lives and millions of cases of respiratory disease. Oil refiners will have to modify the way they make diesel, and engine manufacturers will have to add pollution control devices--changes they say will cost the consumer.

NPR's Peter Overby reports on the recent announcements of appointees by President-elect George W. Bush. Bush named New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman for the appointment of administrator to the Environmental Protection Agency and former Missouri Senator John Ashcroft for the appointment to Attorney General of the United States.

Allison St. John of member station KPBS in San Diego reports on an essay contest for high school students . The students submit essays on a theme of when it's not good to keep a secret. The program is an effort to help young people deal with the ethical issues which arise when they suspect a friend may be contemplating a violent act against themself or others.

Linda Wertheimer talks with John Huntington, professor of art history at Ohio State University, about the decrees by Taliban clerics in Afganistan to destroy all Buddha statues in the country. The professor describes the statues, and talks about why they are important. Pictures of Buddhist art in Afghanistan may be found at kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu

Pope John Paul II closes out the jubilee year, shutting the door in St. Peter's Basillica that he opened to mark the beginning of the third millennium of Christianity. Some 25 million pilgrims have visited Rome this jubilee year, to reaffirm their commitment to the faith. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports.

As state and local governments face up to the possibility of budget deficits in the coming year, many are tightening their belts by cutting programs. One of those to face the budget axe is recycling. In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott McCallum wants to cut the state's subsidy for local recyling programs by $10 million. Host Lisa Simeone speaks with John Reindl, Recycling Manager for Dane County, Wisconsin.

Like the late Brother Theodore, the Citizen is one of those New York characters. In the 1970s, he did a show for WBAI that featured live comedy and a troupe that included John Goodman. Today the Citizen plays in the Wretched Refuse String Band and co-hosts another radio show, the Secret Museum of the Air. Jon Kalish has the story.

NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that the Justice Department has given a federal prosecutor in New York jurisdiction to investigate all of then-President Clinton's last-minute pardons. Attorney General John Ashcroft has given U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White authority to look into any claims that cash or other benefits were exchanged for pardons.

The Pope John Paul II Cultural Center opens today in an area of Washington, D.C. known as the little Vatican. Alex Van Oss finds out what it means to create an interactive museum for the head of the Catholic Church. NOTE: Web Site at www.jp2cc.org. (3:45) (Note: this site will open in a new browser wi

President Bush ruffled lots of feathers weeks ago by backing away from the Kyoto global warming treat and delaying rules limiting arsenic in drinking water. NPR's John Nielsen reports that Mr. Bush's 2001 federal budget contains a quieter but no less pointed attack on Clinton environmental policies.

John T. Edge tells the story of Georgia Gilmore, who sold food to finance the bus boycott -- and whose kitchen was a safe haven and source of good Southern cooking for civil rights leaders. She died March 9, 1990 as she was preparing food to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Selma-Montgomery March; the food was served to her mourners instead.

Politicians aren't the only ones doing a song and dance this election season. Iowa-born playwright Robert John Ford has written a musical comedy that pokes fun at the Iowa Caucuses and there's an adaptation in the works for the New Hampshire Primary.

Picasso's Demoiselles d'Avignon turns 100 this year. Museum of Modern Art curator John Elderfield talks about the painting, which is considered the first great work of modern art.