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On Capitol Hill today, negotiators sat down to work out differences between the budget plan approved by the House and the one approved by the Senate. The House has approved a smaller increase in spending and a bigger cut in taxes, sticking close to the plan proposed by President Bush. But the Senate was a different story, because Democrats occupy half that chamber's seats. The Senate negotiating group that went to work today is also split 50-50 between the parties. NPR's David Welna reports from the Capitol.

NPR's Pam Fessler reports on the first congressional hearing into electoral reform since the contested Presidential election five months ago. The House Administration Committee heard from five secretaries of state, officials responsible for voting procedures. They testified that equipment needs to be modernized, voters should be better educated in voting procedures, poll-workers should be trained better, and higher standards should be set for conducting elections and recounts.

A New Zealand air force plane returned safely today to Christchurch after retrieving four ill Americans and seven other U.S. staffers from a frigid research station near Antarctica's coast. A second perilous rescue mission to the bottom of the world is now underway. An eight-seat Twin Otter plane has landed at the South Pole to evacuate a sick American doctor. Antarctica's harsh, dark winter conditions usually preclude flights in or out. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

In his first 100 days in office, President Bush has pursued the tax cut and education plans he campaigned for last year. He has generated controversy over the environment and come to grips with his first foreign crisis. He has also shown a strong devotion to the country beyond the confines of Congress and the national's capital city. NPR's Don Gonyea reports from the White House.

NPR's Richard Knox reports that the debate over AIDS drugs to the developing world is expanding to Latin America. The nations of Central and South America are actually better poised to take advantage of lower prices, because health infrastructures are more advanced. But pharmaceutical giants are already aiming to stop further erosion of their prices. Last week in Quebec City, new anti-generic rules were proposed that would protect patents on brand name drugs in Central and South America.

Journalist MARK BOWDEN His new book is called Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the Worlds Greatest Outlaw (Atlantic Monthly Press.) Its an investigation into the US government's role in bringing down Colombian cocaine kingpin and terrorist Pablo Escobar. BOWDEN will talk about Escobar, the world of drug trafficking and US/Colombia relations. MARK BOWDEN is a reporter with the Philadelphia Inquirer. His previous book was the award winning bestseller Black Hawk Down. A film adaptation is in the works.

The partisan battles of George W. Bush's presidency are swiftly being joined in the evenly divided Senate, where the change of a single seat could change the party in control. That makes every vulnerable incumbent a marked man, and no one is more aware of it than freshman Democrat Max Cleland of Georgia. A narrow winner in 1996, Cleland is already campaigning at full speed for his re-election bid in 2002. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

Three days after the Peruvian Air Force downed a small plane carrying a missionary family, military and diplomatic officials on two continents are still trying to sort out what happened. In Washington today, Bush administration spokesmen said the CIA had been involved in the drug interdiction effort that killed an American woman and her infant daughter. But they said the CIA-operated surveillance plane had no part in the decision that led to the tragedy. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports.

President Bush campaigned last year on a promise to restore the power and morale of the United States armed forces. But this year he introduced his first budget with scarcely any increase in spending for the military. The president said he wanted to conduct a strategic review of all U.S. defense needs. That review is nearly complete now, and it appears some weapons systems long sought or supported by the Pentagon are on the chopping block. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from the Pentagon.

NPR's David Welna reports on moves by some members in Congress to play a leading role on carbon pollution regulation in power plants. Earlier this week President Bush reversed a campaign pledge on limiting such emissions. But today a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a "Clean Power Act" legislation, designed to regulate power plant pollutants. The Bush administration is focusing more on anticipated power outages; earlier today, Energy Secretary Abraham predicted blackouts in California this summer.