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NPR's David Welna reports on the first day of the 107th Congress. Republican Dennis Hastert has returned for a second term as Speaker of the House of Representatives. The vote, with 222 for Hastert and 206 for Democratic leader Richard Gephardt, was along party lines, except for two exceptions: Democrat James Traficant of Ohio, an outspoken and controversial maverick, fulfilled his promise and voted for Hastert. Gene Taylor, a conservative Democrat from Mississippi, voted not for Gephardt but for Representative John Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat. Two other House members voted "present." Other than that, it was a day of excitement, as many members brought their children onto the House floor.

NPR's Martin Kaste reports from Bogota that Colombia's President Andres Pastrana is under increasing pressure to bring the rebel group known as FARC back to the negotiating table. Pastrana was elected in 1998 largely on the basis of his daring meeting with the FARC commander, but over the past two years, the peace process has stalled and the public is getting impatient. {The FARC commander has agreed to meet face-to-face with Pastrana this Thursday, but under certain pre-conditions. One is that the government crack down on right-wing paramilitary groups that routinely kill anyone suspected of being a rebel sympathizer.}

NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that, while financier Marc Rich's pardon didn't go through the usual channels at the Justice Department, one top official, Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder, was informed. Another issue about Rich's citizenship has also arisen. At one time he renounced his citizenship, but the State Department maintains he is still a U.S. citizen. If so, the multimillionaire could owe U.S. income taxes on earnings during 17-years of exile in Switzerland. That could sway his decision on whether to return to the U.S.

On Monday, NPR News will begin a series exploring the war on drugs in collaboration with Frontline, the PBS documentary program. Each night next week, on All Things Considered, reporter Deborah Amos will examine in detail an aspect of a sixty billion dollar industry in this country...illegal drugs. One of the people we'll hear from in the series is John Hensley, who tracked the flow of drug money from the U.S. Custom's Service. He dramatizes the sheer volume of that flow. There's more at http://www.npr.org/news/specials/drugwars/.

Two drug companies that sold chemotherapy medications to a pharmacist who illegally diluted them reach a settlement with his customers. Eli Lilly and Bristol-Myers Squibb agree to pay $71 million to 360 plaintiffs, who claim sales records should have exposed the drug tampering scheme years before the FBI uncovered it. Frank Morris of member station KCUR reports.

In the second of five reports on child welfare, NPR's Brian Naylor examines the condition of child protective services in New York City. Following the beating death of a six-year-old girl in 1995, New York made fundamental reforms in its child welfare system, and it became a successful model for municipalities in other states. Now, the New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS) is facing criticism and caught in a budget crunch.

NPR's Ted Clark reports President Clinton met today with North Korea's number two official in yet another sign that tensions between Washington and Pyongyang are easing. The 45-minute session between Mr. Clinton and Cho Myong Rok, Vice Chairman of North Korea's National Defense Commission, is the highest level meeting between the two countries since the Korean war. A U.S. official described the talks as "very positive, direct and warm." Both countries are anxious to improve relations. Washington wants North Korea to roll back its missile program. North Korea is in dire need of economic assistance and wants to be taken off the United States' list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

Susanne Capelouto of Peach State Public Radio reports that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wants to release billions of gallons of water from three Georgia reservoirs to float a single barge. Georgia is in the midst of a three year drought and state officials don't feel this is the best use of water because it could ultimately affect the water supplies for metro Atlanta. Three 360 ton generators for a nuclear power plant are on the barge, and power plant officials say that's the only way to get them to their destination.

Bob Johnson, the founder of Black Entertainment Television, is America's first black billionaire. He's a busy man, having recently sold BET to media conglomerate Viacom while making plans to buy a small spinoff airline. As NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports, the 54-year-old Johnson has delighted many blacks and angered many others. He's an avowed capitalist who says he's more interested in building market value than in social policy. And he makes no apologies for the rap videos that have been the staple of his network.

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports from Moscow that a Russian court today convicted American Edmond Pope of spying and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors said Pope, a retired naval officer, tried to buy classified technology for the Squall torpedo, a weapon which moves with lightning speed through the water. Pope's supporters say he was a legitimate businessman, and the Russian technology involved had already been sold abroad. Pope battled a rare form of bone cancer several years ago, and the Clinton administration says he should be allowed to return home for medical treatment.