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NPR's Adam Hochberg reports that while a number of states have filed huge lawsuits against the tobacco industry, there's been substantial resistance among elected officials in some states to these suits. While a number of Attorneys General are hoping to recover money they said the state has had to pay out for tobacco-related illnesses, some politicians feel this is not the best way for their states to spend their time and money, and some have resisted these suits because they feel they just end up lining the pockets of anti-tobacco lawyers.

NPR's Chris Arnold reports that despite the rush to hook schools to the Internet, there's still a lot of questions about just how useful on-line services are to students. Some schools that have just been connected find that without the right training, students and teachers often waste time learning how to use the Internet. Schools with more experience say it's crucial to structure lesson plans around Internet resources, and to make sure students are not just using computers as a toy.

In the fraud and conspiracy case against Jim and Susan McDougal and Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, businessman David Hale testified today that he met with then governor Bill Clinton and James McDougal to discuss making a covet loan to Clinton. Mr. Hale is the government's star witness and his testimony has been long-awaited. He was sentenced last week to more than 2 years in prison and more than a million dollars in fines for defrauding the Small Business Administration. NPR's Jon Greenberg reports from Little Rock, Arkansas.

The European Commission has confirmed the world-wide ban on British beef. Earlier this week, a committee of verterinarians had recommended the ban. Although scientists can't confirm a link between what has come to be known as mad cow disease and a fatal human disease, the commission decided to ban British beef to restore public confidence. NPR's Michael Goldfarb reports on the reasons for the ban, the ramifications for the British beef industry and the British government plans for handling the crisis.

Linda talks with Mongadi Mafata, a court reporter for the Sowetan newspaper in South Africa, about the divorce proceedings between President Nelson Mandela and his estranged wife, Winnie. As of today, the divorce is final, after some powerful testimony from the Mr. Mandela in which he claimed she made him the lonliest man in the country, testimony Winnie Mandela's lawyers did not refute. Mafata says that this testimony was meant to prove that there were irreconcilable differences between the couple, grounds for granting the divorce. The financial settlement is scheduled for tomorrow.

Sally Watt of member station W-U-S-F in Tampa reports that the police department's policy of high speed pursuits of criminal suspects has been called into question. A series of accidents have resulted in the deaths of 5 people and in the injury of 12 others since the policy was reinstated in last May. The Tampa Police Department say they initiated the policy to fight car theft, and they blame the criminals who refuse to stop, for the carnage.

President Clinton signed the line-item veto bill today. It will allow a president to eliminate specific items in spending legislation, as well as very narrow tax loopholes and new entitlements. The new law, which presidents have called for for decades, goes into effect next January and will expire in eight years unless Congress extends it. Proponents say it will help cut the deficit. But NPR's Mara Liasson reports that many analysts are skeptical about the line-item veto's effectiveness.

Robert talks with Jeff Goodell of Rolling Stone magazine about the news that Apple Computers has reported its lowest earnings ever. Goodell has written and in-depth look into the rise and fall of Apple computer and about the Apple culture. Goodell talks about Apple COmputers origins in which came during the rise of the West Coast counter culture. While Apple is experiencincing very difficult times right now, Goodell belives that Apple's inventiveness is still there and thinks this will be the factor that will keep the company competitive for awhile to come.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports that this week's release of secret State Department documents sheds new light on the U-S relationship with the Guatemalan military in the period following the end of the Cold War. The security forces in Guatemala were responsible for numerous cases of murder and torture, some of them involving American citizens, but the United States continued to maintain ties with the military there. The documents show that the CIA was working closely with the Guatemalan security forces at a time when the U-S government officially was distancing itself from those security forces.

NPR's Joe Palca reports on the murky ethical questions that can arise during medical research. Palca tells the story of a woman with multiple sclerosis who volunteered to test an experimental drug. She says she was promised a free supply of the medication in exchange for her participation. Medical ethicists say patients should never be made promises like that, and should not enter studies with the expectation that they will benefit personally.