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It's been forty years since the Soviet Union and the United States engaged in a "spy swap," sending Francis Gary Powers and Rudolf Abel back to their respective countries. Retired veterans of the KGB recently gathered to reminisce about that event and other Cold War successes. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

In India, the Parsis religious sect's distinctive method of disposing of their dead -- the so called 'towers of silence,' where bodies are left to be eaten by vultures -- is in danger. As NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from Bombay, the vultures are dying and the sect's leaders are trying to find a way to preserve their tradition for dealing with the dead.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Jerusalem that Palestinian leaders are seeking clarifications of peace proposals put forward by President Clinton. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak will discuss the proposals Thursday in Egypt, their first face-to-face meeting in nearly three months.

Host Bob Edwards talks with David Field, airline reporter for USA Today, about holiday travel. The holiday travel season is the busiest travel time of the year but ironically it is not the time when airlines rack up their profits. In fact many airlines are offering discounts to travelers.

Kate Seelye in Beirut reports on a growing debate in Lebanon over the continued presence of some 35-thousand Syrian troops in the country. Syrian forces were given a peacekeeping mandate in Lebanon under the agreement that ended the long civil war a decade ago. But Lebanese Christian leaders and others say the time has come for the Syrians to go home.

Power shortages in the west are not just affecting California. The governors of Oregon and Washington are asking their residents to cut back on electricity use. The two states are also relaxing environmental standards that have hampered power production - and they're calling on California to do the same. Tom Banse reports from Olympia, Washington.

Jennifer Niessen from member station KPLU in Seattle reports on a financial analyst from First Boston who posed as a temp to infiltrate on-line retailer Amazon.com. He succeeded in learning about the company's financial health, but his plan raises questions about professional ethics.

NPR's Frank Browning reports that flu season is about to reach its peak, and public health officials recommend frequent hand washing with soap, as a good way to protect against influenza. It sounds obvious, yet many people don't even wash their hands after using the bathroom.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on the status of the legal battle for the White House. Over the weekend, the U.S. Supreme Court put a stop to the manual recount of undervotes ordered by the Florida Supreme Court last week. Today, both sides will argue their case in the high court.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports a gracious response to Vice President Al Gore's concession speech from both parties. But Democrats are still uncomfortable with the Supreme Court ruling which led to the speech. Divisions between the parties still remain but in spite of that Bush is prepared to work hard to push his agenda through.