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SYRIA - Hopes for an early breakthrough in the Israeli-Syrian Peace Talks have faded but slow movement forward continues. NPR's Ted Clark reports. -b- 16. CREDIT CARD SECURITY - NPR's John McChesney reports that Visa and Mastercard have agreed on a single technical standard that they say will allow for secure purchases over the Internet. The two credit card giants had been pursuing different systems with conflicting security specifications. Today's announcement means banks and consumers will not have to worry about choosing one system over the other.

In the first of two reports, NPR's Michael Skoler reports on the escalating ethnic violence in the central African nation of Burundi. The United Nations is worried that fighting between the minority Tutsis and majority Hutus could erupt into the sort of mass killing that gripped neighboring Rwanda two years ago. A weak coalition government has been unable to stop the violence, as the Tutsi-dominated army battles Hutu rebels. Many average Burundians are losing hope that their political leaders can find a way out of the conflict.

NPR's Cheryl Corley reports that the Chicago City Council recently passed an ordinance which will deny business licenses to parents behind in their child support payments. Chicago is the first city to pass this kind of an ordinance. Nineteen states with similar legislation report improved collection rates. Opponents say that by taking away licenses and business opportunities it's harder for people to pay child support in the future.

Daniel talks with Boston Globe reporter Daniel Golden about a recent investigative report he wrote. He found that 11.5 billion dollars worth of unclaimed property is being held by the federal and state governments with little effort to find the owners. Golden says this is a growing trend as governments become more strapped for funds. He argues that governments have a responsibility to do more to return these funds. In his investigation, Golden was able to locate the owners of over $200,000 dollars worth of unclaimed property.

A dispute between New York and New Jersey over who should own historic Ellis Island has gone to trial in the Supreme Court. This is not an appeal. It's the original trial. Border disputes like this one are heard by the Supreme Court, although it doesn't happen very often. NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that the justices have assigned a legal expert called a special master to hear the case. The justices will make their ruling based on his report.

NPR's Andy Bowers reports from Moscow that political infighting in the Kremlin has flared up again. It had been quiet in the Russian capital following President Yeltsin's heart operation until today, when that calm was shattered by a report in a respected newspaper. The paper published what it says is a detailed transcript of a bugged meeting by Yeltsin aides talking about illegal campaign paryments during the presidential campaign in June.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports the District of Columbia Control Board has fired Washington's superintendent of schools, and is taking most powers away from the city's elected Board of Education. The Control Board--empowered by Congress to manage the city's affairs due to Washington's severe financial crisis--recently issued a report saying the city's school are in a state of crisis. Today, they appointed a 9-member panel to try to save the city's school system.

NPR's Martha Raddatz talks with Noah about how the Pentagon is discounting reports that the Air Force is clearing the General who was in charge of the military housing facility where 19 US airmen were killed in a terrorist bombing in Saudi Arabia last June. An earlier report..by a special task force headed by a retired Army general...had faulted the Pentagon's entire command structure for paying insufficient attention to terrorist threats.

A major environmental lobbying group has broken ranks, issuing a report that calls the Endangered Species Act a failure. The Environmental Defense Fund says the law hasn't protected species on private land and that the law needs to be overhauled to extend its reach to these areas. But other groups don't want Congress to tinker with one of environmentalism's monumental achievements. And as NPR's John Nielsen reports, ranchers and farmers are also opposed to any changes.

South Korean newspapers today are headlining reports that outgoing President Kim Dae Jung authorized $200 million to go to North Korea just before a summit between the two nations in 2000. Critics say the payoff negated the summit, which was billed as a breakthrough in North-South relations. Some are even saying it could spell the end of Kim's so-called sunshine policy of engagement with the North. NPR's Rob Gifford reports from Seoul.