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NPR's Brooke Gladstone offers a progress report on television industry efforts to come up with a ratings system for its programming. The giant telecommunications law passed last year gave television a year to devise a plan of its own or face one imposed by the federal government. Although a final announcement on the ratings system isn't scheduled until later this month, details are filtering out. And some lawmakers and parents' advocates don't like what they're hearing.

A fellow Republican Congressman from Georgia said today that House Speaker Newt Gingrich gave "an erroneous statement" to the House Ethics Committee. Representative John Linder blamed Gingrich's then-attorney, Jan Baran, for the errors. Baran announced yesterday that he had dropped Gingrich as a client. The Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Gingrich violated tax laws in regard to a college course he taught, as well as whether he misled investigators. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

NPR's Elaine Korry reports that the Oakland, California school district has declared "Ebonics" or black English to be a second language as a way of addressing the low performance of some black students. The school district says the move is intended to help black students the same way that English as a second language programs help new immigrants. But opponents of the idea say calling black English a distinct language simply validates bad grammar and won't help black students succeed.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that the United Nations Security Council today broke a deadlock and selected Kofi Annan (KO-fee ah-NAHN) of Ghana to be the next U-N secretary general. Annan will succeed Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who was blocked from a second term by the United States. For the past several days France had objected to Annan, but Paris joined the rest of the Security Council today in backing the Ghanaian, who currently is head of UN peacekeeping operations.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that an off-duty Israeli soldier opened fire in a crowded marketplace in the West Bank town of Hebron, wounding eight Palestinians. The soldier, who lives in another West Bank settlement, said he was trying to scuttle the impending agreement on an Israeli troop withdrawal from Hebron. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved quickly to limit any damage to the diplomatic process, telephoning Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to condemn the shooting. Israeli and Palestinian officials said both sides are determined not to let today's incident delay the peace process.

John Biewen of Minnesota Public Radio reports on the rise of the so-called fringe banks...pawn shops and check cashing businesses which charge very high rates of interest and cater to the poor. An increasing number of poor families have no relationship with a traditional bank or savings and loan. Advocates for the poor say that higher and more pervasive fees are pushing the poor out of banks and into the pawn shops. Bankers disagree and suggest there are lots of reasons why poor people prefer "fringe" banking.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from the Zairean capital Kinshasa that longtime President Mobutu Sese Seko is expected to return tomorrow after spending several months in Europe getting treatment for prostate cancer. Mobutu will be returning to a country in severe crisis: a weak civilian government and a largely inept military are facing a surging rebel army in eastern Zaire. Some believe the uprising, combined with Zaire's legendary corruption, economic mismanagement and political instability, could lead to the complete disintegration of one of Africa's largest nations.

Robert talks with reporter Eric Lyman in Lima about the tense hostage situation in the Peruvian capital, where leftist guerrillas are holding at least two hundred people -- including senior government officials and foreign diplomats -- at the Japanese ambassador's residence. The rebels took over the residence during a party last night; they're demanding the release of jailed comrades. The guerrillas, who belong to the small Tupac Amaru (TOO-pock ah-MAHR-oo) Revolutionary Movement, have released about one hundred seventy hostages, most of them women.

NPR's Martha Raddatz reports on another hearing on Capitol Hill today, discussing the effects of possible chemical exposure during the Persian Gulf War. The Pentagon announced today that it is looking for scientists to conduct more studies on how low-level exposure to chemical weapons affects both people and animals. The research is part of the Pentagon's efforts to solve the mystery of why thousands of veterans who fought in the Gulf War have suffered a range of ailments including nausea, chronic fatigue and memory loss.

Some of the most common diseases in the United States are sexually transmitted: syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and hepatitis. But they're difficult to track and to treat. About a fourth of the 12 million cases that occur each year affect adolescents. The most serious consequences are born by women of child-bearing age who may become infertile or develop cancer as a result of untreated infections. NPR's Vicky Que (KWAY) reports that an Institute of Medicine study concludes that not enough is being done by either the private or the public sector to prevent these infections.