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Joshua Welsh of South Dakota Public Radio begins our two part series looking at the Homestake Mining Company. The company has announced it will end its gold mining operation in the Black Hills of South Dakota by 2002. The mine is the largest gold mine in North America, and has produced more ore than any other. Its also where most people in the small town of Lead South Dakota report for work.

On Capitol Hill today, negotiators sat down to work out differences between the budget plan approved by the House and the one approved by the Senate. The House has approved a smaller increase in spending and a bigger cut in taxes, sticking close to the plan proposed by President Bush. But the Senate was a different story, because Democrats occupy half that chamber's seats. The Senate negotiating group that went to work today is also split 50-50 between the parties. NPR's David Welna reports from the Capitol.

Noah Adams speaks with Zoran Kusovac, Balkans correspondent for Jane's Defense Weekly. The army of Macedonia is fighting Albanians rebels in the hills above the town of Tetovo. Kusovac explains the inherent difficulty of defeating an insurgent rebel group -- particularly in this situation. The Macedonian army is an old vestige of the former Yugoslav military and depends on one-year conscripts (some of whom are Albanian) to fight the rebels. Kusovac says this kind of battle requires small, well-armed and trained mobile army units to penetrate guerilla territory.

In 1925, the Church Hill tunnel caved in while a train was passing through it. At least two workers were killed at the site in southern Virginia, and the locomotive was never recovered. Now there are plans to uncover the site that has inspired many local legends and mysteries.

The Senate Intelligence Committee could begin hearings on President Bush's choice of Gen. Mike Hayden to run the CIA as soon as next week. But the debate on the Hill has already begun, with some members of Congress asking whether a career military officer should be running that agency right now.

Military analysts criticize the U.S. war plan as fierce Iraqi resistance slows the march toward Baghdad. Critics say U.S. commanders made a mistake by not sending more ground forces to Iraq. On Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld defends the war plan, saying the "outcome is assured" and the ruling regime will be removed. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

Arab television stations air a new tape, allegedly from Saddam Hussein, in which the speaker mourns the killing last week of Saddam's two eldest sons. Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, senators grill Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz on the Bush administration's failure to provide clear guidance on the costs of the U.S. mission in Iraq. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

As reports show the U.S. economy added 308,000 jobs in March, Republicans on Capitol Hill generally claim the numbers vindicate the GOP's tax policies. Democrats have conflicting reactions: relief that Americans are finding jobs, but criticism that job production is still not good enough. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

Concern over lost U.S. jobs and corporate "outsourcing" is prompting lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures to propose laws to discourage companies from sending work overseas. But a group of about 200 well-financed trade groups has formed a new coalition to try to keep these bills from ever becoming law. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the central bank is prepared to raise interest rates more quickly if inflation suddenly worsens. Greenspan, testifying on Capitol Hill, noted the nation's improving economic conditions but said the Reserve would remain vigilant to stabilize prices. NPR's Jack Speer reports.