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NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that the House of Representatives voted today to overturn President Clinton's certification of Mexico as cooperating in the drug war. But in a compromise, the House passed an amendment postponing its action for ninety days, to give Mexico a chance to improve its anti-narcotics performance. The President has vowed to veto a de-certification bill, and is concentrating his efforts on defeating it in the Senate.

The Federal Trade Commission today rejected the proposed merger of office supply rivals Staples and Office Depot. The FTC decided to seek an injuction that would prevent the $4.9 billion transaction from proceeding. The FTC says the merger would hurt competition in the growing market for office supplies. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

The expansion of NATO ranks high on the agenda for this month's U.S.-Russia summit. NPR examines the issue in a four-part series that looks at the varying points of view of those affected: The United States, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia. In the second installment, NPR's Edward Lifson reports on how Western Europeans feel about inviting their eastern neighbors to join NATO.

Korva talks with diamond industry analyst Vahid Fathi (va-HEED FAHT-ee) about the reports coming out of Moscow that Russia and the South African DeBeers company are poised to reach a long-delayed agreement on the marketing of Russian diamonds through the powerful DeBeers cartel. For the past year, Russia has been trying to market its gemstones independently.

Carolyn Jack of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports on a meeting today in Toronto between Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori and Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. The two leaders met to discuss ways to resolve the hostage crisis in Lima, but Fujimori's pledge never to exchange the hostages for jailed Tupac amaru guerrillas suggested the crisis was far from over.

NPR's Vicky Que reports on an outbreak of hepatitis A that is being linked to contaminated strawberries. So far the only cases that have been confirmed are in Michigan, but the strawberries were shipped to five other states. School officials in Los Angeles are planning to offer shots to about nine thousand students who may have eaten strawberries distributed through school lunch programs.

Ohio's state Supreme Court ruled Monday that the state's system for funding schools is unfair, saying it contributed to inequities in education. Ohio is one of many states that have had their eudcation funding systems thrown out; now the state must find a more equitable system for allocating funds to the state's schools. Bill Cohen of Ohio Public Radio reports.

A gunman fatally shot three people at a Detroit bank today before police killed him. NPR's Don Gonyea reports that, while the man's motives are not clear, some are wondering whether the gunman was copying the bank robbers who sparked a Feb. 28 shootout in Los Angeles that left two dead and wounded 16 police officers and citizens.

Catherine Winter of Minnesota Public Radio reports on the successes and failures of Minnesota's Willow River prison "boot camp." The goal of the camp is to change a lifetime of bad habits, but studies indicate that even though the behavior of inmates does change while a person is in boot camp, the change fades once the inmates are released. Many wind up returning to prison.

President Clinton is undergoing surgery for a torn tendon in his knee at Bethesda Naval Hospital this afternoon. The President injured his tendon early this morning when he fell down a step during a trip to Miami. Doctors say it will take weeks for the President to recover, but Mr. Clinton says he will still attend the Helsinki summit next week. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.