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Dozens of members of Congress up for re-election are attending the Republican National Convention this week, and many of them are hoping that the top of the ticket will help out their own campaigns. Many have been fearful that presidential candidate Bob Dole, who has been doing poorly in the polls, might hurt their own re-election chances or the chances of Republicans to retain control of Congress. But the selection of Jack Kemp, a former member of Congress, to be Dole's running mate has given some of these Republicans a boost. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

NPR's Jim Zarroli reports Wall Street's top brokerage firms agreed to pay nearly $1.5 billion in fines to settle conflict-of-interest charges. Regulators accused the firms of continuing to recommend stocks they privately had turned against. Besides fines, the firms agree to spend several hundred million dollars in coming years buying research from independent firms that don't mix stock research with investment banking.

President Elect George W. Bush named two of his top campaign aides to new jobs today, completing the transfer of his "Texas Iron Triangle" from Austin to Washington. Senior strategist Karl Rove will become senior adviser to Bush in the White House, where he will handle public liaison and strategy as well as politics. Joe Allbaugh, who has been Bush's campaign manager, will become the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Don Gonyea reports from Austin.

NPR's Michelle Kelemen reports on new developments in U.S.-Yugoslavia relations. A top Yugoslav official, meeting with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright yesterday, said his country is interested in stronger economic ties with the U.S., and might be willing to allow an international war crimes tribunal to try former President Slobodan Milosevic. The U.S. has set aside 100 million dollars to help Yugoslavia...on the condition that war criminals be tried.

The Bush administration condemns the assassination of a top commander of the Kurdish resistance in northern Iraq. A State Department spokesman says the United States had been working closely with Gen. Shawkat Haji Mushir. Mushir's death is blamed on a Kurdish Islamist movement with al Qaeda ties. NPR's Ivan Watson report.

The top prizes in science this year recognize inventions that have changed our lives and that could shape the future. The physics award will be shared by people who developed the computer chip and figured out surprising new ways to get semiconductors to do other tricks, such as emitting light. The prize in chemistry goes to researchers who developed plastics that can conduct electricity. NPR's Richard Harris reports. (4:00) Note: The words god damn appear near the end of the third actuality of this piece.

The $200 plate of french fries are made with champagne and truffles and topped with gold dust.

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with Charles Duelfer, who served as deputy executive chairman of the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) from 1993 to 2000, about the additional $600 million the Bush administration is seeking for the continuing search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The money is part of the $87 billion request that Bush has already put before Congress, and comes on top of the $300 million already spent in the weapons search.

Junior Senior's single "Move Your Feet" has spent nine weeks on Britain's top 10 pop charts and sold more than 200,000 copies. Now the Danish musical duo hopes to take America by storm. Their CD, Don't Stop the Beat, makes its U.S. debut Tuesday. Charles de Ledesma reports.

The top military commander in Iraq releases more information on the operation that led to the killing of Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay Hussein. Members of the former Iraqi regime identified the bodies, and dental records indicate a near-perfect match on both men. Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez also announces the capture of no. 11 on the U.S. most-wanted list in Iraq. NPR's Guy Raz reports.