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NPR's Ted Clark reports thaT Venezuela's nationalistic President Hugo Chavez is set to be the first elected head of state to visit Iraq's Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War. U-S officials are clearly displeased and have sought to pressure him not to visit Baghdad. Chavez, who was just re-elected under a new constitution he helped draw up, is touring OPEC countries to urge a summit and appears to be enjoying showing his independence from US policy.

NPR's Tovia Smith reports on the unique challenges that Joseph Lieberman's strict religious beliefs may present as his campaign for Vice-President kicks into gear.

NPR's Scott Horsley reports on a commercial database that keeps track of millions of Americans who have bounced checks. More than 85-thousand bank branches subscribe to the database, called Chexsystem, and use it to screen potential customers. But critics say a single bad check can place someone's name on the database, and once listed, it's unlikely they'll be able to open an account for up to five years.

Studies show few U-S students are proficient at basic geography and it doesn't get much better when they grow up: nearly half of Americans don't know the population of the U.S.; three in ten can't use a map to calculate distance or directions. A group of educators want to change how geography is taught ... making instruction both more relevant and more rigorous. Jodi Becker of Chicago Public Radio reports.

NPR's Cheryl Corley reports on an unusual lawsuit by an Oklahoma Indian tribe, over millions of acres of land in Illinois. The Miami tribe claims a 200 -year old treaty gives them rights to lands their ancestors once roamed - lands that now house farms, businesses and two state universities.

In the first of a three-part series on the Mafia, NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports that a courageous new generation of magistrates and politicians has dealt serious blows to the Sicilian mob, also known as the Cosa Nostra. But anti-Mafia crusaders worry that the Cosa Nostra is quietly re-emerging under new guises.

NPR's Tovia Smith profiles the man Al Gore has asked to join him on the Democratic ticket. Joseph Lieberman began life as the son of a liquor store owner who never went to college. But he studied hard, got a scholarship to Yale and then attended law school there. After that it was the state legislature, the state attorney general's office and an upset win over a senior Republican senator in 1988. Now, thanks to his reputation for religious commitment and moral fiber, Lieberman suddenly finds himself on the national stage.

Linda talks to Abe Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), in New York City, about Al Gore's choice of Senator Joseph Lieberman for the Vice Presidential slot on the Democratic presidential ticket. Lieberman is an orthodox Jew, and Foxman discusses what this choice means for the American Jewish community.

Linda talks with Bill Kristol, editor at the Weekly Standard, about what Joseph Lieberman brings to the Democratic ticket in terms of "family values."

Denis Johnson is a writer best known for his quirky stories about the drug life in the collection titled, Jesus' Son, which opened as a movie this summer. Now he's published a new novel called, The Name of the World. Alan Cheuse reviews it. (1:45) Please Note: Jesus' Son, and The Name of the World, both by Denis Johnson, are published by Harper Collins.