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NPR's Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem reports former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned home today after an extended US lecture tour, and plunged immediately into the Israeli election campaign. Netanyahu has not yet formally announced his candidacy, but most analysts believe he will seek to topple incumbent Prime Minister Ehud Barak in elections expected next Spring.

Peach State Public Radio's Susanna Capelouto reports on a new children's book titled The Yellow Star by Carmen Agra Deedy. It's a well-told tale about Danish Christians in the early 1940s who helped their Jewish countrymen hide from the Nazis...but many are saying it isn't true.

NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports on the voting machine business. Punch card machines, so widely-criticized during the recent presidential balloting in Florida, are used by some 30% of U.S. counties, cities and townships. The technology may be outdated and unreliable, but it is much cheaper than buying new, more advanced machines.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from England where the privatization of the rail system has raised serious concerns after several recent crashes and derailments. The president of the rail company is being questioned by the transportation committee, and even Britain's Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has come under criticism for the accidents.

NPR's John McChesney reports the online music service known as Napster may have taken a step toward legitimacy with the announcement yesterday of a partnership with media giant Bertelsmann (BMG), but the record industry's lawsuit against Napster is not going away. There are four other record companies suing the internet upstart and, so far, they do not seem willing to drop the copyright infringement suit.

Kate Seelye in Damascus reports that while Syria's new President Bashar al-Assad has yet to initiate any major reforms, there have been changes since the death of Assad's father, who ruled the country with an iron fist for three decades. For the first time, Syrians are able to speak their minds without fear of retaliation; and more and more are doing so.

Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore is campaigning from dawn until late in the evening this week. After 24 years in public life and eight as Vice President, the man known as a policy wonk is using old fashioned populist rhetoric to secure his Democratic base and woo undecided voters in key states. NPR political correspondent Elizabeth Arnold reports.

NPR's Madeleine Brand reports from Oregon where statewide efforts to get out the vote among young people have run up against a generation more disillusioned than apathetic. The youth vote could sway Oregon, and the entire presidential election, but these students say they don't relate to either candidate.

Presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore will be featured on the longest running, most popular variety show in this hemisphere. Sabado Gigante, or The Big Saturday Show, is a weekly must see ritual for many Hispanics across the country, attracting more than 10 million viewers every week. NPR's Phillip Davis reports.

President Clinton signed a tougher standard for drunk driving yesterday, lowering to legal limit to eight tenths of one percent. Advocates say the new law will save hundreds of lives annually, but opponents in the restaurant and alcohol producers lobby argue there's no proof. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports.