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Up until a few short weeks ago, Whittier, Alaska - a small town of 300 or so people could only be reached by rail. But now - the tunnel which links it to the rest of the state has been opened to vehicle traffic as well. As Anne Sutton reports, tourists are taking advantage of this and rushing to view the former army post. But what they're finding there isn't quite what they expected.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports that a bill to ban almost all forms of Internet gambling failed to pass the House of Representatives yesterday. The measure would have allowed betting on horse and dog tracks, jail-alai matches to continue. Critics of the bill say it is unenforceable, since most online casinos operate outside the United States.

NPR's Larry Abramson reports on Congress's struggle with a couple of communications issues: whether to require cable systems to open their lines to outside Internet providers, and whether local phone companies will be allowed to offer long distance data transfer. These issues are becoming a major target for industry lobbyists on all sides of the issue, and the result has been a stalemate as to the best way to speed deployment of hi-speed Internet access.

Inflation remained in check last month as consumer prices rose at the same pace as in five of the past six months. As NPR's Jack Speer reports, core prices rose just two-tenths of a percent last month, when food and energy prices are NOT taken into account. Even though gas prices escalated sharply in June, many economists see inflation remaining tame and believe the Federal Reserve is successfully engineering a "soft landing" for the booming economy.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that some members of Congress are pressing President Clinton **not** to certify that Colombia is making progress in improving its human rights record. The determination is a precondition to the release of a billion-dollar US aid package for the South American nation. Colombia's military has come under criticism for its ties to notorious right-wing paramilitary groups, which are responsible for most of the country's rights abuses.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Philadelphia, where the Republicans are holding their Platform Committee hearings in preparation for next week's presidential nominating convention. Republicans, following the lead of their presumed nominee, George W. Bush, are taking some of the tougher-edged rhetoric out of this year's document. But it remains a strongly conservative platform, as abortion-rights advocates were once again thwarted in their efforts to modify the plank.

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports that President Vladimir Putin is meeting with 21 Russian businessmen today in an effort to ease rising tensions caused by legal cases against big companies. The criminal tax investigations into some of Russia's top business tycoons, is making them unhappy. They accuse the government of singling them out.

Beach-goers in Delaware have long considered horseshoe crabs the scourge of the shore. They rotted by the hundreds, stinking up the beach. But now the number of crabs spawning on the beaches is way down, and Bruce Schimmel reports local residents are trying to protect them. (4:30) note: music button following this piece on the air was from Sting's album "The Dream of the Blue Turtles," on A&M records.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on the last hurdle to normalizing trade relations with China. Tennessee Republican Senator Fred Thompson has sponsored a bill that would authorize sanctions against China for assisting in nuclear proliferation. The Clinton administration is critical of this attempt to legislate foreign policy mandates, and says it threatens to undermine the relationship between the U.S. and China.

Host Bob Edwards talks to Newsweek Reporter Donatella Lorch about the UN embargo on diamond purchases from the rebels fighting to overthrow Sierra Leone's government. The UN hopes the ban will cut funding to the civil war, which has caused thousands of deaths in the West African country. Lorch says that implementing the embargo will be difficult for a variety of reasons.