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Robert and Noah read letters from All Things Considered's listeners. (3:30) To send a letter write to "Letters," All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 635 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC, 20001 or send e-mail to ATC@npr.org.

The National Transportation Safety Board has concluded that the TWA Flight 800 disaster of 1996 was probably caused by an electrical short circuit. The four-year investigation formally ended today, as the board stressed that the flight was NOT brought down by a terrorist action. NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports.

Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease. For some reason, rates of asthma keep going up every year. Researchers have been looking at the causes for this increase, which has been found to be much higher in the industrialized world. Everything from exposure to dust mites and cockroaches to diet has been implicated. Now, a new study from the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that there might be another cause: too much cleanliness. The more sterile the early environment for infants six months and younger, the more problems with asthma they seem to have later in life. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports.

Robert talks to California Attorney General Bill Lockyer about settlement in the state's lawsuit against Publishers Clearing House. Lockyer says this is just the beginning -- that he's been talking with other state Attorneys General about closing a similar settlement deal with another major sweepstakes company.

Host Renee Montagne talks to reporter Richard Galpin about the resurgence of violence in East Timor. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees suspended operations in West Timor after three of its workers were severely injured in an attack by pro-Indonesian militias.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports that Mexico's President-elect Vicente Fox is on a two-day visit to Washington to present his proposals on trade, immigration and drug trafficking. Fox defeated the ruling party's candidate, President Ernesto Zedillo, in a July election. He supports opening borders as a way of addressing illegal immigration and helping to develop Mexico's economy. US business and labor leaders are unenthusiastic, but President Clinton has said he wants to hear more about Fox's ideas before expressing an opinion. In addition to visiting President Clinton, Fox met with Vice President Gore and plans a similar session tomorrow with Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush.

Claudio Sanchez reports on the latest results of a 30-year survey of nine, thirteen, and 17-year old American students. The report, which looks at reading, math and science scores, shows today's students are doing better in math than students did 30 years ago. Performance is mixed in reading and science. The survey finds the academic gap between boys and girls has virtually disappeared. It says the gap between white and minority students closed for a while, but has started to open up again. The report also says a much greater percentage of today's students are taking tough courses, such as calculus, than students did 30 years ago.

Richard Harris reports that scientists in Finland have succeeded in making a chemical compound out of one of the few elements on earth considered to be completely inert -- argon. Argon is a gas that makes up 1 percent of our atmosphere. Until now, argon atoms have been complete loners. In today's issue of Nature, chemists reveal a method to make chemical bonds between argon and other atoms.

Host Renee Montagne talks to writer Beverly Donofrio about her search for faith in her new book, Looking for Mary. (5:30) Beverly Donofrio's new book is titled Looking for Mary is published by Viking Pr; ISBN: 06708

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports that a day after meeting with President Clinton in Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met with Yasser Arafat in yet another attempt to get the Middle East peace talks back on track. American mediators are still trying to bridge the gaps between the two sides over Jerusalem in advance of a September deadline for reaching a final peace deal.