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Scott Horsley of member station KPBS reports firefighters in rural San Diego County, California are beginning to make progress today against a wildfire that's scorched more than 10-thousand acres and destroyed a handful of backcountry homes. The fast-moving blaze temporarily closed two Indian casinos, and halted mail delivery in the area for the first time in more than a decade.

One thousand years ago in villages throughout Spain, townspeople would gather to hear the news of the day in an epic poem that would last all night. These were poems of war and hardship, of broken hearts and greatest love. Today these poems echo in Spanish ballads known as the alabados, hymns of praise and lamentation that evoke a people's intimacy with God. Kat Snow of member station KUER has a report.

As fans of the golden age of radio know, New York and Los Angeles were the two major centers of radio drama in the 1930's, 40's and 50's. But today the West Coast is where the action is. LA boasts three groups that produce radio drama on a regular basis and is also home to an important archive devoted to vintage radio. Jon Kalish reports.

The first figures from the 2000 U.S. Census were released today showing that there are more than 281 million Americans. The United States population count, held every ten years, will reshape the nation's political boundaries. As NPR's Pam Fessler reports, states in the South and West will gain congressional seats while some states in the Northeast and the Midwest will lose seats.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden in Jerusalem reports on the latest Israeli-Palestinian violence, including a series of bomb blasts in central Israel that left dozens injured. The bloodshed came amid US efforts to broker a breakthrough with the two sides for a final Middle East peace settlement. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is now expected to fly to Washington for talks with President Clinton this week.

NPR's John Nielsen reports on President Clinton's protection of huge tracts of Western land during his time in office, by invoking the sometimes controversial Antiquities Act. Clinton's designation of these lands as off-limits to development could be one of the most lasting effects of his presidency. This story is part of a week-long series on Morning Edition about the Clinton legacy.

NPR's Julie Rovner reports on events in Washington marking the 28th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortion. President Bush signed an executive order blocking U.S. funds to international family planning groups that offer abortions, or counsel on abortion. Mr. Bush did not attend the annual Washington march opposing abortion, but he sent a letter supporting the marchers.

Today in a West Bank town, Binyamin Kahane, son of the slain Rabbi and militant Jewish settler Meir Kahane, was shot to death along with his wife, and five of his six children were wounded. Then a local head of Yasser Arafat's Fatah Party was gunned down in what appears to be a revenge attack, according to Palestinians. NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Jerusalem on the latest violence.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden in Jerusalem reports Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has again ordered the army to use all means necessary to punish and prevent Palestinian attacks on Israeli targets. Increasingly, this has meant hunting down and killing individual militants that Israel suspects are responsible for the attacks. Palestinians call it "state terrorism", and the policy is provoking new debate among Israelis.

NPR's Jason Beaubien reports that in Massachusetts, students in special education may be allowed to earn a certificate of completion in lieu of a high school diploma. The state's governor is proposing the plan because so many of these students are failing the standardized test required for graduation. Critics say the certificates are only an excuse for public schools to avoid teaching the students most in need.