Search results for

to the shooting down of two American civilian planes.

Less than two years after Missouri opened it's first casino, the state's division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse reports that addiction to gambling is increasing. NPR's Laura Ziegler reports that the gaming industry is working with Missouri and other states to alleviate the problem.

NPR's John Nielsen reports that the use of political polls has grown tremendously in recent years, but their ability to tap into the public mood may be declining as voters become more volatile and more and more are refusing to answer pollster's questions. But generally, polls have been fairly accurate. It's their interpretation that's often wrong. (7:30) CUTAWAY 1A 0:59 1B 3. CONGRESS -- Members of Congress came back to Washington this week after a three week hiatus. And Commentator Mickey Edwards wants know if the republican members will continue the fight for the GOP agenda. It was only two months ago that budget battles raged between the Congress and the White House. Mickey Edwards wonders if Republicans on the Hill will get back on track with their agenda: the balanced budget and taxes. He wonders what they will get accomplished in the next few months, especially now that the GOP Presdiential candidates have taken the spotlight and shifted focus of the Republican agenda.

Danny speaks with Dr. David Grimaldi, Curator and Chairman of the Entomology Department at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Grimaldi led an expedition to a site in New Jersey where they discovered precious ancient flowers embalmed in amber from the Cretaceous period, nearly 90 million years ago. Grimaldi says these are undoubtedly the most completely preserved flowers from the time of the dinasours.

Linda Gradstein reports on details emerging about the Arab- American who crashed his car into a crowded bus stop in Jerusalem. After initially calling the incident an accident, Israeli security authorities now say he was a terrorist. Separately, Israeli police released the names of the two Hamas activists in Sunday's suicide bombings.

NPR's Andy Bowers reports from Sarajevo on the return of some Bosnian Muslims to suburban homes they were forced from four years ago. The Muslims lived in Vogosca ((VOH-gohsh-cha)) and had been kicked out by Bosnian Serbs. Under the Dayton agreement, the neighborhood has been put back under the control of the Bosnian government.

Noah speaks with Sandy Spence, the pipe major of the Atholl Highlanders. He will be playing pipes at the funeral of Gregory Iain Murray, who was the Duke of Atholl, who died at the age of 64. The Duke of Atholl was one of Britain's wealthiest men and had the only remaining private army in England.

Noah talks to put-on artist Mal Sharpe. With the late Jim Coyle, Sharpe staged deadpan encounters with strangers on the streets of San Francisco in the early 1960s. The two taped the bits for a radio station. They presented the people they met with odd challenges -- absurd premises that made the victim grasp for reality. A collection of some of that material has now be re-issued on a compact disc. Sharpe says he and his partner dressed and acted like upright citizens, but spoke sanely about insane things. He says people were more suspectible to such charades back then, but are more suspicious these days.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports on independence day celebrations in Sarajevo. On March 1, 1992, the Bosnian Parliament declared the country independent of Yugoslavia and sparked a war. Today Bosnia is at peace.

Noah talks with artist and musician Terry Allen, who grew up in the 40s and 50s in Lubbock, Texas, and now lives in Santa Fe. His sculptures are in the collections of many well-known modern art museums; and his country songs have earned him a cult following. Up until now he has released his music on his own Fate Records label, but his newest CD, "Human Remains", is on Sugar Hill. Allen says that a lot of his songs have been written behind the wheel of a car, and thinks of tires as condusive to song-writing. (8:00) (IN S