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Amy Eddings of member station WNYC reports U-N Secretary General Kofi Annan spoke to the Millenium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders today. The gathering has been marred by protests over the exclusion of the Dalai Lama because of China's objections. In his speech today, Annan urged political and religious leaders to reaffirm the right to religious freedom.

The way that American elections are financed was a major topic in the presidential primaries, when some candidates saw the subject as a way to cut the frontrunners down to size. But then the frontrunners got nominated, and talk about campaign finances took on a different role in the debate. Now, with Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore the party standard-bearers, the subject is mostly used as a metaphor for issues of character. For NPR News, Peter Overby reports.

Supreme Court nominations are rarely debated as part of a presidential campaign. But the next president may fill several vacancies on the nine-member high court in his first term, changing the makeup of the court for a generation. That may indeed prove to be the next president's most lasting legacy, yet the candidates are less than eager to talk about whom they might choose. Nina Totenberg filed this report for NPR News.

NPR's Rob Gifford reports that China's largest corruption trial begins today in four cities in the southeastern province of Fujian. President Jiang Zemin, who heads the 61 million-member Communist Party, has declared clean government a goal of his rule. But the Fujian scandal has tainted members of the elite ruling circle, among them one of Jiang's proteges.

NPR's Steve Inskeep reports on the controversy surrounding a GOP commercial that subtly flashes the word "RATS" across the screen. Republican Presidential candidate George W. Bush noted that the word appears only fleetingly - for a tiny fraction of a second. Played at full speed, it's barely noticeable, particularly if the viewer isn't looking for the word.

Alex Van Oss reports on a new exhibition featuring the work of Romain Brooks, a bohemian painter who worked in Paris in the early twentieth century. Though she painted seemingly traditional society portraits, she painted them so passionately that she's been called the Thief of Souls. The exhibition continues at the National Museum of Women in the Arts through September 24th.

NPR's Andy Bowers reports a judge in Los Angeles has ruled the city's plan to keep convention protesters away from the Staples Center violates the first amendment because it would force those protesting to go more than two football fields away from the site. City planners are now trying to come up with a new plan that satisfies both the convention and protesters.

NPR's Allison Aubrey reports that many new parents, especially black parents, aren't aware of how to avoid Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, and as a result hundreds of babies die every year. The government says a new public health campaign geared towards the African- American community is necessary to avoid these preventable deaths.

Plans for a World War Two monument on the National Mall in Washington, seem to be moving forward despite opposition from some groups (including some veterans). Those opposed say the design and location would clutter the National Mall; violate the integrity of the Lincoln Memorial and its' surroundings; and may even be illegal. Alex Van Oss reports.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports that the marriage tax penalty reduction bill was passed in Congress. President Clinton is expected to veto it because of changes which add up to $50-Billion dollars over ten years. The bill is part of a Republican strategy to parcel out tax reduction votes one at a time over the presidential campaign season.