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NPR's Michael Skoler reports that as the civil war in eastern Zaire rages on, a large number of Rwandan refugees remain unable, and in some cases unwilling, to return home. Relief groups estimate there are some four hundred thousand Rwandan Hutus stuck inside Zaire, with as many as half of them missing. In one large camp, there are reports of at least thirty deaths a day from malnutrition and disease. Many among the refugees took part in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and do not want to return for fear of arrest.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Tirana, Albania, on the eerie calm that has taken over the capital. Most residents are waiting to see if President Sali Berisha (solly buh-REESH-uh) will respond to an ultimatum that he resign...an ultimatum that comes from rebels in the southern part of the country. In Tirana, armed police are trying to recover control of the airport in order to re-open it tomorrow. Other cities in Albania are still terrorized by armed gangs. One report said most court houses have been burned or damaged, the judicial files burned. Nearly all the country's jails have been destroyed and the prisoners freed.

Today, the President's Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses commission on Gulf War Syndrome held its final hearing before issuing its report. In the past, the committee has been critical of the Pentagon and CIA's handling of the inquiry into a possible cause of the syndrome. Also today, two articles in The New England Journal of Medicine fail yet again to identify a specific health problem attributable to service in the Persian Gulf. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

NPR's Joe Palca reports that researchers for the first time are reporting possible success using gene therapy to treat lung cancer. Researchers at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston conducted an experiment in which they attempted to compensate for damage to a gene involved in lung cancer known as P53 in nine patients who had failed to respond to standard therapy. Three patients showed regression of their tumors, and in three others, tumor growth appeared to stop. Although the findings are promising, the researchers cautioned that they are very preliminary.

NPR's Chris Arnold reports passing a family owned business from one generation to another can be tricky. The children aren't always interested in running a business. And even when they are, they don't always have the skill and experience to step in and take over. A successful transition is more the exception than the rule. Many family businesses end up being sold or falling apart. NPR's Chris Arnold reports on a family in the bayou-country of Louisiana that's trying to make sure that doesn't happen to its business.

Each night this week on All Things Considered, reporter Deborah Amos is covering the sixty-billion-dollar illegal drug trade in the United States. Today, in the second part of the series, Amos reports on the role Mexico plays in the drug war. Sixty-percent of cocaine on the American market now comes from the United States' southern neighbor. The front lines of the battle are in border towns like Tijuana. There's more at http://www.npr.org/news/specials/drugwars/.

Morning Edition's week long series on child care continues today with a report on what new studies in brain development mean for parents and child care providers. Kathyrn Baron of member station KQED reports on the importance of providing children with stable, challenging environments. Experts say development from birth to age five lays the foundation for how well a child learns and grows. But few childcare centers are able to provide the enrichment children need at a price most parents can afford. (

NPR's Debbie Elliot reports from Tallahassee that Florida election officials say that a recount of the state's ballots may not be completed until the end of business tomorrow. Out of nearly six million votes cast, Bush leads Gore by a mere 1800 votes. Absentee ballots could determine the outcome and there have also been a rash of complaints over defective ballots in a heavily Democratic section of the state which reported a high number of votes for Pat Buchanan. Under state law, a recount is mandatory when results are this close. Whoever wins Florida is the next president.

New Jersey's governor releases a report on the findings of an investigation into the abuse of three young boys in Newark, and the death of one of them, a 7-year-old twin. The children were previously known to the state's child welfare agency. As the facts come to light there have been arrests, suspensions and the trading back and forth of accusations and defenses by those who should have been protecting the boys. NPR's Brian Naylor reports from Newark.

Nearly one in five adolescents has had sex before the age of 15, a new report by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy says. The study also finds that parents of one-third of those sexually active adolescents know their teenagers have had sex. In the second report in a series on the sexual behavior of young teens, NPR's Vicky Que says parents and communities play a part in risk-taking behavior.