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A Florida court has ruled that Palm Beach County,Florida must considered so-called "dimpled" ballots in its manual recountfrom the November 7th election. NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports that the countyhad stopped counting while it waited for the court's decision on thestandards for counting partially punched ballots. The county canvassingboard rules say at least one corner of a chad must be dislodged for a ballotto count. But Democrats argued to Circuit Court Judge Jorge Labarga (sayGeorge) that the ballots where there is an indentation next to a candidatesname, even if it is not completely punched through, should also count.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from new Delhi that a unilateral cease-fire commitment from India in Kashmir raises hopes for bringing an end to a conflict that has killed more than 30-thousand people. New Delhi has announced the cease-fire in Indian-controlled Kashmir for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It is the first such offer by India in eleven years of fighting between Indian forces and Kashmiri separatists. Several militant groups based in Pakistan have rejected the offer, but others have been more receptive and even offered cautious support for the idea of future talks between the government and the militants.

Jacky Rowland reports on the tense situation in the Presevo Valley of southern Serbia, where ethnic Albanian militants last week killed four Serb policemen. Most of the residents of the region are ethnic Albanians, and the militants want the area annexed to the province of Kosovo. Yugoslav president Vojislav Kostunica says the fighters are coming over the border from Kosovo into Serbia proper, and he is demanding that NATO troops and UN officials in Kosovo stop them. Kostunica had threatened to send Serbian security forces into the buffer zone along the Kosovo border, if NATO did not curb the attacks by today, but he later postponed the deadline.

The fate of financially troubled Amtrak could depend on the success of Acela Express, its new high-speed train. NPR's Jack Speer reports that the long-delayed train took a group of VIPs on an inaugural run today from Washington to Boston. The train reaches a top speed of 150 miles per hour, but it's still slower than bullet trains in Europe and Japan. Acela tickets aren't cheap, and Amtrak faces a major challenge in persuading people who travel between major citieis by car or air shuttle, to opt for the train.

NPR's Joanne Silberner reports on the latest about a common ingredient found in cold and diet medications. The Food and Drug Administration said it would seek to remove PPA from all products now on the market, due to an elevated risk of stroke among young women who take the drugs. The products affected include various cold remedies marketed under the brand names Contac, Dimetapp, Alka-Seltzer and others. The diet pill Dexatrim is also affected. The industry group representing over-the-counter drugs declined immediate comment. (2:30)View a list of the drugs with PPA.

Commuters may complain about the high gasoline prices around the nation, but they aren't the only ones suffering. The high cost of diesel fuel has lead to a record level of bankruptcies in the trucking industry. Many small and medium truck firms are losing money on every haul because they can't recoup the higher fuel costs. And industry experts believe unless the price of gas drops over the next few months, more bankruptcies are inevitable. Veta Christy of Peach State Public Radio reports.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from London that British police foiled a plot to steal 500-million-dollars worth of diamonds from a display in the Millennium Dome. The robbers threw smoke bombs as they crashed into the Dome on a bulldozer this morning. Acting on a tip-off, dome officials had replaced the jewels -- including the spectacular 203-carat De Beers Millennium Star -- with fakes. Police arrested 12 people after the attempted heist -- which would have been the world's biggest robbery, if successful.

Warning of a "third World War," North Korea has withdrawn from the global treaty that bars it from making nuclear weapons. Japan described it as a "serious matter." China expressed concern over Pyongyang's move. And South Korea called the nuclear standoff a "matter of life and death." NPR's Eric Weiner reports on North Korea's latest move of nuclear brinkmanship from South Korea's capital, Seoul.

Twin terrorist attacks against Israelis took place in Kenya today. More than a dozen people were killed when suicide bombers attacked the Paradise Hotel in Kikambala, an Israeli-owned resort on the Indian Ocean. And two missiles were fired at an Israeli airliner as it took off from the airport in the city of Mombasa. The missiles missed their target. We hear from Jerusalem Post reporter Kelly Hartog who is near Mombasa, Kenya. And Jacki Lyden talks with Cathy Jenkins of the BBC, who is in Nairobi.

NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports on the status of President Bush's plan to bring religious groups into government social service programs. The initiative bogged down in Congress, so the president issued executive orders allowing faith groups to get government contracts to offer such services as housing and substance-abuse treatment. Now, those groups face issues, including whether they can use government money to hire only members of their own faith, or to build facilities that might be used for worship.