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Correspondent for The New York Times ROGER COHEN who is covering the war in Bosnia. He'll discuss the recent offensive by Bosnian Muslims and Croats around Banja Luka in northwestern Bosnia, and he'll talk about the history of Serbs, and the betrayal many Serbs feel by Serbian nationals. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES INTO THE SECOND HALF OF THE

The transportation secretary, who made history as the first openly gay, Senate-confirmed Cabinet member, announced the news on Tuesday.

The "at" (@) sign -- the letter "A" encircled by a loop -- is everywhere these days -- thanks to the internet and E-mail addresses. But where did the sign originate and what is it actually called? According to Giorgio Stabile, a professor of history in Rome, the "at" symbol or "amphora symbol" is not a new sign at all -- and it predates the 18th century as historians previously believed. Professor Stabile has been hard at work for the past three months studying this ubiquitous symbol -- and has now traced it back to May 4, 1536 in a Roman mercantile document signed by Francesco Lapi. No doubt the race is on to find earlier recordings but for now -- the "at" symbol, drawn as we know it, dates back at least as far as the Italian Renaissance. We also went out to ask folks on the streets of Washington about @.

NPR's Neal Conan reports on the life of Admiral Arleigh Burke who died Sunday at the age of 94. "31 Knot Burke" was one of the most successful and colorful naval officers in American history. During the Second World War, he commanded a destroyer squadron in a series of daring night actions against Japanese forces in the waters around the Solomon Islands. In 1955, he became Chief of Naval Operations and served an unprecedented three terms, bringing the Navy into the era of jets, missiles and nuclear propulsion.

Film historian DAVID J. SKAL. He's an expert on the horror film genre. His books include Hollywood Gothic: The Tangled Web of Dracula from Novel to Stage to Screen (W.W. Norton) and The Monster Show: A Cultural History of Horror (Penguin, paperback). His newest book (written in collaboration with Elias Savada) is Dark Carnival: The Secret World of Tod Browning, Hollywood's Master of the Macabre (Anchor Books). Tod Browning was a film director who earned the reputation as "the Edgar Allan Poe of the cinema." He directed Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi and made such films as "Dracula" and the "repellent. . . and pathetic" "Freaks."

Robert and Noah read listeners' comments. The address for All Things Considered letters is 635 Massachusetts Aveneue, NW, Washington, DC 20001....via e-mail, we can be reached at ATC at NPR dot ORG. (3:00) (STEREO) CUTAWAY 2C 0:59 2D 18. HISTORY OF FENCES -- Noah Adams walks through the exhibition Between Fences now open at the National Building Museum in Washington with the exhibit's curator Gregory Dreicer (DRY-sir). The exhibit examines the role of fences in American landscape and culture. It includes stone fences, wrought iron, barbed wire, chain link and the materials used to designate international boundaries.

British religious scholar, KAREN ARMSTRONG. She wrote the bestseller, "A History of God" (Knopf), now in paperback. In that book Armstrong says "All religions have been designed to help us touch the God in each other" Her research traces 4000 years of Monotheism in the form of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The author, a Catholic nun for seven years in the 1960's, left the order to take a degree at Oxford, and now teaches at the Leo Baeck College for the study of Judaism. (REBROADCAST. Originally broadcast 12

South Korea, Japan and the United States have pledged millions in food aid to North Korea, which is said to be experiencing the worst food crisis in its history. Robert talks with Douglas Coutts (KOOTS), North American director of the United Nations World Food Program about the food shortages in North Korea. Mr. Coutts recently traveled to North Korea to work at various rural food distribution sites. It has been said that the country is experiencing food shortages because of the nation's collective farming structure...and the worst flooding in a century. Sixty-five percent of the population receives food allotments of 250 grams per day.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that in Sunday's presidential debate Robert Dole tripped up on the facts in criticizing President Clinton's handling of foreign policy. Dole's biggest error was in accusing Clinton of being the US president who had sent the most troops abroad in history, a fact which he should have known was wrong from his own service overseas in World War II. But Clinton too stretched the truth some, taking credit for foreign policy successes in Europe that more rightly belonged to his predecessor, President Bush.

Noah travelled to Logan County, in southern West Virginia, to talk to people there about the race for governor in that state, and about what politics means to people there. Logan County has a rich political history -- for many decades, the politics of the county were engineered by families who often worked in conjunction with the coal operators to bring money to the region. These political machines got people to the precincts to vote, often with promises of money, or liquor, but always promising better quality of life -- if they voted for the right candidate. People in Logan today are talking about the current governor's race, between Democratic candidate Charlotte Pritt, and Republican candidate Cecil Underwood.