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Host Madeleine Brand talks to Roger Dumars, a reporter with the South China Morning Post, about a series of historic family reunions happening in North and South Korea. Dozens of families from both countries will travel across their boarders to see relatives for the first time in fifty years. The reunions are part of number of conciliatory gestures between North and South Korea, agreed to a summit of their leaders last June.

NPR's Ina Jaffe reports on the Environmental Protection Agency's experimental attempt to cover an undersea deposit of toxic DDT off the coast of California, with a fresh layer of sediment. An estimated 110 Tons of the poisonous pesticide is located on 17 square miles of ocean floor. Between 1947 and 1971, Montrose Chemical dumped the DDT into the sewer system, which discharged it into the ocean.

NPR's Elaine Korry reports on the record high prices for natural gas and how they're expected to raise heating bills this winter. Supplies of natural gas are the tightest they've been in years. High natural gas prices also drive electricity bills higher, in states such as California, where natural gas is used to generate electricity during periods of peak demand.

NPR's Anne Sutton reports from McGrath, Alaska, on the dispute over how to deal with the thriving wolf population in the state. Wolves compete with Native Alaskans and other hunters for moose and caribou meat. There's a stalemate over how much, if any, wolf hunting should be allowed, and whether hunters should be allowed to use airplanes to track wolves from the air before landing to shoot them. Preservationists are worried that too much hunting will wipe out the wolf population.

NPR's Guy Raz reports Germany is marks ten years since reunification today. Most observers agree the benefits for the formerly communist East outweigh the drawbacks. There's much talk of high unemployment in the East. But residents of former East Germany are enjoying higher standards of living. German and foreign leaders alike hailed the achievements of reunification at a ceremony in Dresden today. The architect of German unity, ex-chancellor Helmut Kohl, was notably absent from today's festivities. His reputation has been tainted by a political funding scandal.

Jean Battey Lewis reports on the Kennedy Center tribute to the great ballet choreographer George Balanchine, one of the 20th Century's most significant contributors to the art form. Six companies are performing during the celebration in Washington. They include members of the Bolshoi Ballet, the San Francisco Ballet, the Miami City Ballet, and Suzanne Farrell's Company. Conspiculously absent is the New York City Ballet, the company Balanchine created and made famous during his lifetime.

NPR's Eric Westervelt reports on allegations of police misconduct in the Washington, DC suburb of Prince George's County, Maryland. PG County police officers have shot 12 suspects in just over a year, killing five of them. The FBI is conducting a criminal investigation into the latest case, in which an undercover PG County detective killed an unarmed suspect after following him through the District of Columbia and into Fairfax County, Virginia. The Justice Department is considering whether to open a broader civil rights investigation into the various allegations.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports on the move by Republicans in the House to authorize the building of a monument to former president Ronald Reagan on the National Mall in Washington. It has already passed the House Resources Committee and is on the way to a full floor vote before Congress adjourns next month. Democrats say the move is less about honoring Reagan than it is about injecting him into the current presidential campaign. The move, if it passes, would circumvent a law that says no one can be honored with a memorial in the nation's capital until 25 years after the person's death.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on yet another issue in the debate over the Presidential Debates. After both the Gore and Bush campaigns agreed on their debate formats, third party candidates are feeling excluded. For them to participate, third party candidates must meet what they call a ridiculous criterion set up by the bi-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates. That criterion states that a candidate must win an average of at least 15-percent in national polls to be invited to the debates.

NPR's Cheryl Corley reports that the Chicago chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police endorsed Republican Presidential Candidate George W. Bush. Some say the endorsement is meant as a political statement against city's current administration. Police have been upset with Mayor Richard M. Daley because of on-going contract disputes. Daley's brother, William, is Vice President Al Gore's campaign chairman.