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NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports on the debate over how to train and certify the next generation of teachers. An estimated 2 million new teachers will enter the nation's schools in the next decade, and many educators favor national standards and other measures as a way of ensuring that the next generation of teachers is qualified. But others say a state and local approach is more appropriate, and some feel making we need to loosen up the rules for teacher certification as a way of encouraging people to get on the job training in the profession.

Chris Nuttall from Ankara reports on the controversy surrounding Turkey's Prime Minister Necmettin Erbekan. He has outraged his domestic opponents by a trip to Libya, during which Moammer Khaddafi, at a joint news conference with Erbekan, called for an independent Kurdish state- an anathema to the Turks. He faces a no-confidence vote in Parliament. He has earned the anger of the Clinton Administration for the visit to Libya and one to Iran, and for the deals he has signed with countries on the U.S. embargo list.

Ed O'Loughlin reports from Johannesburg that former Defense Minister Magnus Malan and other former police officials were acquitted of murder charges today. Malan was the most senior member of the old apartheid government to stand trial for human rights abuses, but the judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict him and fifteen co-defendants of the 1987 death squad killing of a family. The ruling angered many who had fought white minority rule, while former apartheid officials praised it as a vindication.

Officials at the Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground say they are searching for any other offenders in the sex scandal at the training installation. So far three male trainers, including two drill instructors have been charged with rape and sexual harassment of more than a dozen Army women. The base commander also says he's reiterating a "buddy system" policy, under which each recruit has a partner to keep watch over him or her at all times. NPR's Phillip Davis reports.

Some gang members say the only way to get out of a gang is in a casket or by going to jail. But some experts say that many young people in gangs DO eventually go straight. John Biewen [BEE-win] from Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul reports on an effort to convince young people to resist the lure of gang membership, which focuses on intensive education and counseling...and teaching kids the difference between fear and respect. (STEREO)

NPR's David Molpus reports that the South, like the rest of the nation, produced mixed messages as far as electoral results are concerned. Democrats picked off a couple of Republican freshman in the House, but Republicans did better in open seats...and the GOP also picked up 2 Senate seats in Arkansas and Alabama. Meanwhile, black candidates who used to represent majority-minority districts did better than expected--despite redistricting, all five won relection, including Cynthia McKinney of Georgia.

NPR's David Welna reports from Havana that Cuban President Fidel Castro is defiantly insisting that he will not permit further political reforms, despite expectations raised by Castro's recent meeting with Pope John Paul the Second. Cuba is also under fire from Europe, particularly from longtime ally Spain, for its lack of democratic freedoms. In the latest sign of his hardline stance, Castro today oversaw a huge parade of military hardware, the first such display in Havana in ten years.

A study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that dietary suppliments of the trace element selenium protect against cancers of the lung, prostate and colon. NPR's Vicky Que reports that researchers involved in a 13-year investigation of a possible link between selenium and skin cancer found no protective effect but they did find that the research subjects had a 37 percent reduction in the incidence of lung, prostate and colon cancers after only 4 1/2 years.

While many efforts to use the Internet for commerce have proved disappointing, there are a few web-based businesses that appear to have the right formula. One such company is Tunes.com...the company runs a web site that allows you to listen to a little bit of every track from a cd. Tunes.com already has more than 200,000 music tracks available. NPR's John McChesney reports on how the company has managed to combine novelty and profitability.

FBI Director Louis Freeh says the investigation continues into who leaked the name of security guard Richard Jewell as a suspect in the Atlanta Olympics bombing. Freeh said at a Senate hearing today that no progress has been made in finding the source of the leak to the news media. NPR's Paul Miller reports that Freeh said at least 500 people in law enforcement knew that Jewell was a suspect. Jewell was investigated by federal authorities for months, and was scrutinized by the news media after the leak, but ultimately was cleared of suspicion.