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NPR's Mike Shuster reports that jury selection begins today in Los Angeles in the federal trial of Ahmed Ressam , the Algerian man who's accused of trying to smuggle bomb making materials into the United States. He was arrested in December of 1999, while crossing from Canada into Washington State. Prosecutors will argue that Ressam was part of a conspiracy to blow up public facilities during the Year 2000 celebrations.

Vice President Cheney went home from the hospital today, one day after undergoing an operation to reopen an artery to his heart. The angioplasty was performed at George Washington University Hospital, not far from the White House. Doctors there canceled plans for a briefing today on the vice president's condition. Mr. Cheney is expected to return to work later this week, although White House staff were not discussing any details of his case. NPR's White House correspondent Don Gonyea reports.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Belgrade on reaction to NATO's decision today to allow Yugoslav forces into a buffer zone along the Serbian border with Macedonia. The allies agreed to let Yugoslav forces into what was a demilitarized zone to oust ethnic Albanian rebels sheltering there. Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica welcomed the move. But he blasted NATO for allowing the ethnic Albanian militants to operate in the region and allowing the security situation in the region to deteriorate. The rebels have been staging attacks inside Serbia proper, and recently, in the neighboring country of Macedonia.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that the "Big Box" has landed in Japan. Huge discount warehouse stores are just beginnning to open up there. Japanese consumers are unaccustomed to both the cutrate deals on household items, and the no-frills atmosphere. Stores such as CostCo are providing stiff competition to Mom-and-Pop retailers, who pride themselves on personal service, right down to delivering a single bottle of sake to a customer's front door.

Charlene Scott of member station WFCR reports on a new play written by actress Lynn Redgrave. Redgrave, daughter of esteemed British actor Michael Redgrave and sister of actress Vanessa Redgrave, began writing for the stage in 1993 with Shakespeare for my Father. She says her new work The Mandrake Root is not autobiographical although the main character, an elderly British woman named Rose, was inspired by her mother. The play is making its world premier in New Haven, Connecticut.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that Japan's worst economic downturn since World War II has radically changed expectations of young college graduates. In years past, the country's corporate giants would go to the top schools and actively recruit new employees, who generally were given jobs for life. Now it is the students who are chasing employers. And many of them are not finding jobs. Some have given up on full-time employment and simply bounce from one part-time job to another while living with their parents.

NPR's Amy Costello reports on the use of stun guns -- devices that deliver a strong electric shock -- in law enforcement. In 1994, a research branch of the U.S. Justice Department offered 900 stun guns to the Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff's department, to study whether the weapons would reduce violence between prisoners and officials. The sheriff swiftly put them into use by prison guards. Only a year later, the Justice Department proper was investigating charges of abuse of inmates by guards using the weapons.

NPR's Martin Kaste reports that former dictator General Augusto Pinochet continues to defy Chilean courts. Yesterday, he refused to submit to a medical examination designed to determine whether he is mentally fit to stand trial. Pinochet is accused in the disappearance of dozens of his political opponents during his rule. The president of the supreme court today said the high court has the means to enforce its decisions. It's unclear what action the courts might take against Pinochet, although arrest of the aging general certainly is a possibility.

From a special Scottish court in The Netherlands, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that the prosecution in the Lockerbie trial began making its closing statement today. The prosecution counsel said the Crown had proven beyond reasonable doubt that the two Libyan defendants blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. In a surprise move, the prosecution streamlined the indictment, asking the court to find the Libyans guilty on a single charge: murder. It dropped lesser charges of conspiracy and violation of the Aviation Security Act.

NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on new recommendations out today regarding vitamin A, iron and other nutrients. The guidelines come from the Institute of Medicine, which is for the first time putting upper limits on how much vitamin A people should consume. Excessive amounts of vitamin A, either through diet or through supplements, may cause liver disease and birth defects. The institute issued new advice about consuming vegetables containing vitamin A and other nutrients.