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NASA and its Russian counterpart have been quietly sparring over an American businessman named Dennis Tito. Tito is paying the Russians a reported $20 million for a ride into space. Russia plans to take him to the international space station. NASA doesn't like that idea. NPR's Larry Abramson reports on the first official response by NASA to Russian determination to send Tito to the station.

Host Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Andy Bowers about the testimony of Captain Scott Waddle of the USS Greeneville. The Naval Court of Inquiry into the fatal submarine accident with a Japanese fishing boat ended yesterday.

NPR's Jim Zarroli reports on the reaction among investors to the FederalReserve's cut of interest rates by only a half of a percentage point. Some had expected a more aggressive, three-quarter percent cut.

Host Bob Edwards concludes his interview with Richard Allen, National Security Adviser to President Ronald Reagan, about the tape recordings he made in and around the White House Situation Room the day Reagan was shot. Today's conversation covers the behind-the-scenes events surrounding Secretary of State Alexander Haig's famous "I am in control" speech to the press. Allen also explains why these tape recordings have been kept secret for 20 years.

NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that suggests pregnant women may be particularly vulnerable to some kinds of violence. Researchers found pregnant women in Maryland were twice as likely to be victims of homicide, and that murder was the leading cause of death for expecting mothers. The study did not say why pregnant women are so often the targets of violent attacks, but some experts are now calling on doctors to be more diligent in identifying and reporting signs of domestic violence, especially when it involves a pregnant woman.

NPR's Martin Kaste reports on the newly appointed Argentine Economics Minister, Domingo Cavallo. Cavallo gave the Argentine economy a much-needed boost ten years ago when inflation rates were sky-high. Many hope he'll do the same for the struggling economy this time around.

Vice Premier Qian Qichen is in Washington. He is the highest ranking Chinese official to visit since the Bush administration took office. Qian will meet with the president tomorrow at the White House. China's top concern right now is a decision Mr. Bush must soon make on U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Taiwan wants to buy advanced anti-missile technology (Aegis destroyers) but China is adamantly opposed to such a sale. If the sale goes through, some analysts say China will drop the more moderate stance it has recently adopted toward Taiwan. Other analysts say China's views should not be a factor in any U.S. decision to sell weapons to Taiwan.

"Ping-pong diplomacy" between the United States and China began 30 years ago. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is in Beijing to commemorate the event while Vice Premier Qian Qichen is in the United States. China warned the United States Tuesday not to sell arms to Taiwan and threaten 30 years of "ping-pong dimplomacy" that paved the way for formal bilateral ties between the United States and China.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from the Pentagon that the United States is not considering sending troops to Macedonia or increasing its deployment in neighboring Kosovo. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discussed the crisis today with his British counterpart, Geoffrey Hoon. Gjelten reports that the Bush administration seems unprepared for this latest Balkan crisis.

NPR's Richard Harris reports on a new fossil skull, perhaps the most complete ever from a crucial period 3.5 million years ago. It was a period when the pre-human line was branching in several evolutionary directions. A member of the Leakey family found the skull. The Leakeys have been discovering fossils for three generations.