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For the past two weeks in the former Soviet-Repubilc of elarus voters have faced a controversial referendum. If passed, it will greatly xpand the powers of the presidency. NPR's Andy Bowers visited the capital, insk, and profiles Natalia -- a young democrat running for Parliament in a ountry that still clings to its communist past.

to Thailand.

Robert talks with Hirsh Goodman, editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Report, about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's defiant statement today that Jewish settlements will continue to grow. Netanyahu said this while visiting Ariel, a large settlement on the West Bank, also pledging that no settlement would be uprooted to satisfy Arab demands. Goodman says the Prime Minister is placating right-wing voters who were instrumental in getting him elected earlier this year.

NPR's Michael Goldfarb reports on the 10-day-old trucker strike in France. The strike tactics, including roadblocks on highways and at truck fueling stations, have resulted in fuel rationing in some areas, closed factories and an interruption to the supplies of perishable goods. Overnight, the union and trucking companies reached an agreement to allow truckers to retire at age 55 after 25 years employment. Still to be settled are trucker demands for higher pay and shorter working hours.

Noah talks with Pepper Schwartz, a sociology professor at the University of Washington. She was a lead witness for the plaintiffs in the same-sex marriage discrimination suit in Hawaii that was decided yesterday. They talk about the demographics of same-sex unions, and she tells stories about the motivations for marriage, impediments to marriage, and rituals being used in same-sex marriage ceremonies.

NPR's Martha Raddatz reports that President Clinton today announced his choices for a new national security team, nominating Republican Senator William Cohen of Maine as defense secretary and U.N. ambassador Madeleine Albright as the nation's first female secretary of state. He also named his national security advisor, Anthony Lake, to head the CIA and has asked Lake's deputy, Samuel "Sandy" Berger, to fill Lake's job. They were the first of several announced cabinet changes expected for the second Clinton administration.

Noah reads from listeners' comments. To contact All Things Considered, write to All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington D-C, 20001. To contact us via the Internet, the address is ATC@ NPR.ORG.

A major environmental lobbying group has broken ranks, issuing a report that calls the Endangered Species Act a failure. The Environmental Defense Fund says the law hasn't protected species on private land and that the law needs to be overhauled to extend its reach to these areas. But other groups don't want Congress to tinker with one of environmentalism's monumental achievements. And as NPR's John Nielsen reports, ranchers and farmers are also opposed to any changes.

between the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago over Meigs Field, the tiny airport on Lake Michigan, which is very convenient for state officials traveling to and from the capital in Springfield. The State legislature has voted to take control of the airport site, something Mayor Richard Daley promises to fight in court. Chicago wants to make a public park on the land.

The National Transportation Safety Board meets this week in Florida to review all data collected about last May's ValuJet crash. Transcripts from cockpit voice recordings reveal that the pilots knew just how much trouble their craft was in. Investigators will also review results of the data analysis to try and repeat the condition that led to the fire that brought down the plane. NPR's Dan Charles reports.