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FROM PARIS, WHERE THE FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS TO BE HELD SUNDAY, NPR'S ANDY BOWERS REPORTS THAT LIKE AMERICANS, THE FRENCH PICK THEIR LEADERS BASED ON WHAT THEY LEARN ABOUT THEM IN NEWSPAPERS AND ON TELEVISION. BUT WHAT THE FRENCH SEE IN THE MEDIA IS NOT AT ALL LIKE WHAT WE SEE IN AMERICAN ELECTIONS.

Liane Hansen speaks with NPR sports reporter ark Schramm (SHHRAM) about today's game between the San Diego Chargers nd the San Francisco 49er's. The two discuss underdog San Diego's hances; the pressure on San Francisco quarterback Steve Young; and the ifference between veterans with Superbowl experience and first timers o the big game.

Wisconsin Governor Thommy Thompson is trying an xperiment in state-controlled welfare reform. Marge Pitrof (PIH-troff) of ember station W-U-W-M in Milwaukee reports on the state's new "work not elfare" pilot program. The new system will give welfare recipients two years to ind and maintain employment or risk the loss of all state assistance.

NPR's Isabel Alegria reports that a Republican lawmaker in the state of California has proposed legislation that would cancel affirmative action programs in the public sector. Two California academics have written what they call the California Civil Rights Initiative, that would also bar the state from granting preferences based on race, sex, ethnicity or national origin, if voters were to pass the initiative.

NPR's Howard Berkes reports from Phoenix, Arizona, where the National Rifle Association is continuing its annual meeting. Today, NRA executive vice-president Wayne LaPierre sought to distance his organization from the militias and paramilitary groups we've been hearing so much about since the Oklahoma City bombing.

NPR's Maria Hinojosa reports from New York City that the Justice Department has forced Madison Square Garden and other sports arenas to remove cigarette advertisements from locations where they can be seen by television camera's broadcasting sports events from those arenas. Cigarette advertising on television has been banned for the last 24 years.

Journalist STAN SESSER. A "Reporter at Large" in Southeast Asia for the New Yorker, Sesser has collected some of those pieces in a new book "The Lands of Charm and Cruelty: Travels in Southeast Asia" (Knopf). Sesser discusses the recent elections in Cambodia; elections which featured violence, twenty political parties and massive voter turnout

NPR'S Peter Kenyon reports that in Washington this week, both the House and Senate will be preparing to vote on budget resolutions that Republicans say will bring the huge federal deficit under control. They say these budget blueprints will balance the budget by the year 2002 Lawmakers are still months away from actually cutting any federal programs. But the debate between Republicans and Democrats is at hand, and it's going to be contentious.

NPR's Wendy Kauffman reports on the influence Microsoft Corporation has had on the city of Seattle. Not only has the company brought jobs to the reigon, but business that provide support services to Microsoft, like shipping and disk duplication, have thrived. In addition, Microsoft and its head, Bill Gates, have donated money to the univeristy and the professional baseball team in the city.

ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL ISSUES FACING CONGRESS UPON ITS RETURN AFTER LABOR DAY IS THE FUTURE OF MEDICARE. WHILE REPUBLICANS SAY THEY ARE COMMITTED TO REFORMING THE PROGRAM IN ORDER TO SAVE IT, DEMOCRATS ACCUSE THEM OF MISLEADING THE PUBLIC. NPR'S PATRICIA NEIGHMOND REPORTS ON A TOWN MEETING SPONSORED BY CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN BILL THOMAS.