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on the transformation of Hezbollah from a politically weak party to a force that far transcends the number of seats in parliament. Each day of fighting has turned the Lebanese to look to Hezbollah as an expression of the national will.

New York Times reporter and columnist Lisa Belkin writes the "Life's Work" column for the paper. Her recent article "The Grief Payout" in The New York Times Magazine (Dec. 8, 2002) is about the Victim Compensation Fund set up to benefit the families of victims from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and examines the controversies surrounding how the money is distributed. Lisa Belkin is also the author of the book Life's Work: Confessions of an Unbalanced Mom.

(Update) Host Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Michael Sullivan in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, about what hope is left for a ceasefire between Israelis and Palestians. Middle Eastern leaders are still meeting with President Clinton at the resort, but no accord has yet been reached.

President Clinton leaves tomorrow to visit Moscow and to meet with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Daniel talks to NPR's Ann Garrels about the mood of the Russian people and the state of Russian politics. Russians find that the security of their lives under the Soviet system is gone and they are facing an uncertain future. She says that although Yeltsin is not popular, there are no political alternatives to his leadership.

that, so far, 28 states have submitted their welfare reform plans. The deadline is July 1st in order to take advantage of a new funding mechanism which will allow them to receive more money from the federal government. Other states in other circumstances have no incentive to file their plans early.

A new report from the Kew Gardens in London is billed as the first comprehensive report on the state of the world's fungi.

Nearly 20,000 people have been declared dead in the wake of Monday's earthquake in southwestern China. NPR's Melissa Block and Robert Siegel were on the ground, covering the quake and its aftermath from the beginning. Today, they take a step back to discuss their experiences with Michele Norris.

on the $35 million campaign the AFL-CIO is planning this year to defeat 75 House members -- almost all of whom are Republicans. Labor hopes to reassert itself as the important voting block it once was. But many union members voted Republican in the last election and getting them to follow the union leadership's guidance on election day is a formidable task.

Daniel Zwerdling talks to education researcher Gerald Bracey about the state of American education. Bracey feels, contrary to public opinion, that the education system is in fact doing very well. He says that the school system includes a more diverse group of students than it did 50 years ago and education standards compare very favourably with the rest of the industrialized world.

that Ford Motor Company has announced what could be the largest recall program in the history of the auto industry. Ford is offering to fix faulty ignition switches on more than 8 million vehicles manufactured between 1988 and 1993. The ignition switches can short circuit, leaving Ford vehicles vulnerable to fire.