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NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports that Senator Bob Dole, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has released his position on how the issue of abortion should be dealt with in the party's platform. He hopes to avoid a big fight at the national convention in San Diego this summer. Dole said he endorses keeping language that calls for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion, but that he would back new language acknowledging that Republicans differ on a number of issues, including abortion.

NPR's Debbie Elliot reports that, despite the attention that's been focused on black churches, arson is a major problem for houses of worship, regardless of the race of the congregation. Attorney General Janet Reno said today that preventing church fires and arresting the culprits remains at the top of the Justice Department priority list and federal officials recently met with church leaders in Mobile, Alabama to talk about arson prevention.

Sean Crowley reports that First Lady Hillary Clinton visited Robben Island today with South African President Nelson Mandela. The South African leader spent 18 of his 27 years in prison on the island. Clinton has spent the past three days in South Africa, one of the stops on a two-week, six-nation African tour--the first such trip by a sitting First Lady.

The Federal Aviation Administration is considering the adoption of regulations that would require airlines to install fire extinguishers in cargo holds. The most practical chemical available for those systems has been banned by the Environmental Protection Agency because it damages the ozone layer. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports the agencies appear to be headed for an agreement to use the banned chemical, while a safe, effective and affordable alternative is developed.

In Cincinnati, Ohio, some candidates spent upwards of $200,000 for a seat on the city council, before a city ordinance placed spending caps on local campaigns. The city hopes a court challenge to the ordinance will wind up before the Supreme Court...and will prompt the Court to reverse its 1976 Supreme Court decision that found mandatory spending caps violate candidates' free speech rights. NPR's Rick Karr reports.

NPR's Jacki Lyden reports that a leading Iranian dissident is returning to the country after nearly a year of self-imposed exile. Abdol Karim Soroush, a leading Islamic philosopher, has angered the authorities by arguing against Iran's theocratic style of government. He disagrees with the government's rigid interpretation of Islam, and insists there is no reason why Islam cannot be compatible with Western concepts of democracy and human rights.

NPR's Margot Adler reports that the European manufacturer of the abortion pill RU-486 decided to stop prouduction today and gave the European production rights to a new company. Roussel Uclaf, which is owned by Hoechst AG, abandoned the effort to sell RU-486 in the United States several years ago, due to anti-abortion groups threats of a boycott of the company. The company gave rights to manufacture the pill in the United States to the Population Council in New York.

At least two Palestinians were killed and more than 100 injured today in the West Bank town of Hebron. The first Palestinian was killed by an Israeli settler, and the second by Israeli soldiers in violence sparked by the first incident. This violence comes as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned to Israel following yesterday's discussions in Washington with President Clinton... discussions that failed to yield any substantive progress on restarting the peace process. Laurie Neff reports.

PR's Michael Skoler reports from the Zairean capital Kinshasa that the extent of foreign involvement in Zaire's civil war is becoming more clear. Zaire has claimed all along that the rebellion in the eastern part of the country was backed by Uganda and Rwanda. Analysts Angola has also helped the rebels. All of this has led many to question why the US and other powers have not put more pressure on these nations to stop intervening.

While the House is trying to emerge from the bitter fight over Speaker Newt Gingrich's ethics violations, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate are actually beginning the year with a bipartisan spirit. Besides the Senate's swift approval of President Clinton choices for Secretaries of State and Defence, Senators on both sides of the aisle are working on legislation dealing with the capital gains tax, crime, and education. But NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports that there are still plenty of partisan battles ahead, particularly over the balanced budget amendment and late-term abortions.