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NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., about the release of the Mueller report.

The llama-like animals were the next hot thing coming to backyard farmers. Investors sank tens of thousands of dollars into top-of-the-line breeds. Some breeders were left with near-worthless herds.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) forms a presidential exploratory committee and says that he will announce his plans — to run for the top office or not — on Feb. 10. Obama's move allows him to raise money for a presidential candidacy.

According to emails read in court during the long trial of defunct Murdoch tabloid News of the World, the queen's staff placed bowls of nuts around the palace for her, but royal police roaming the corridors couldn't resist them. So she drew lines on the bowls to keep track of the snack levels.

It's the first Saturday of the month and host Jacki Lyden is joined by novelist Paul Auster to bring you the National Story Project. Interested in submitting a story? Send your stories to: PMB 206 123 7th Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11215. You can also email your submission to NationalStoryProject@npr.org. For more information on the National Story Project and to read this month's stories, please visit the National Story Project area on NPR's web site at http://www.npr.org/programs/watc/991002.storyproject.html.

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 @.

Is it OK to gloat privately at a former friend's misfortune? What should you do about the gift you really don't like but are afraid to toss? Randy Cohen, who writes The Ethicist column for The New York Times Magazine, joins NPR's Steve Inskeep for this week's installment of ethical dillemas from our listeners. (If you wish to pose an ethical question to Randy, write to the broadcast via email: watc@npr.org Put the word "ethics" in the subject line, and leave a daytime phone number.)

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.

Thirteen All Things Considered commentators narrate a spooky story they collaborated on. It's a story of a lonely chicken salesman and his voyage of self-discovery. The story takes him on an eerie train ride, to a farmyard populated by bizarre poultry and Yiddish-speaking farmers. The authors passed the story around by e-mail and fax, chapter by chapter. They are Alan Cheuse, Bailey White, Leon Wynter, Laurie Anderson, Andrei Codrescu, Bill Harley, Daniel Pinkwater, Joyce Maynard, Bob Garfield, Amy Dickinson, Teller, Marion Winik and Kevin Kling.

Host Lisa Simeone talks with Rob Bamberger about the life and music of Mildred Bailey (1903-1951). Bailey was a popular singer of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. She sang with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, and was married to bandleader and xylophone player, Red Norvo. Rob Bamberger is the host of the radio program, Hot Jazz Saturday Night, on member station WAMU,Washington DC (www.wamu.org) and on NPR Worldwide, NPR's international service. Listeners can reach Rob by e-mail at "hotjazz@wamu.org". A new re-mastered collection of Mildred Bailey's Columbia 78s is on Mosaic Records (www.mosaicrecords.com).