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Ballet in America would not be what it is without Lincoln Kirstein (KURR-steen), who died today in his Manhattan home at the age of 87. NPR's Melissa Block reports that as a dance patron, Kirstein brought choreographer George Balanchine to the United States in 1933. Together they founded the School of American Ballet and later, the New York City Ballet. Kirstein ran both for many years and wrote several books on dance.

Commentator Jonetta Rose Barris believes that when well-meaning legislators seek to ban advertising on cigarettes and alcohol, they take away the critical element of choice. Efforts to ban such advertising in poor, inner city neighborhoods is paternalistic, she says. Children need to learn to exercise their judgement and practice making choices. The ability to choose wisely isn't dropped in our laps when we turn 21, she says. We need to teach them to beware the products, not the ads.

One of the most important...and controversial...West Coast sculptors of the 1950's through the '90's (but especially the 1960's), Kienholz (pronounced KEEN-holz) created life-sized tableaux comprised of casts of human figures and real objects in various settings: "Back Seat Dodge" and "The Illegal Operation" are perhaps his best-known....not to mention most self-explanatory...titles. The first major retrospective of his work EVER is at the Whitney Museum of Art in New York city now. Karen Michel reports

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports on how the war in Liberia has affected the country's Lebanese community. The Lebanese have been in Liberia for about a hundred years, and they control much of business. The war has driven most of the original community of fifteen thousand Lebanese out of the country. About two hundred are holding out, however, including two Lebanese who have kept the capital's only hotel running despite the city's plunge into anarchy over the past month.

NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports that since April 27th, the Olympic Torch has been making its way across the country and is scheduled to arrive in Atlanta for the start of the Games in July. By the time the torch completes its journey, it will have traveled more than fifteen thousand miles through forty-two states, and be carried by more than ten thousand people. Wherever it passes, small town or big city, the Torch seems to capture the spirit of the Olympics for those who watch and those who participate.

Israel will elect its next prime minister on Wednesday. Robert talks with an Arab family from Acre (AY-kr), a coastal city in northern Israel. The Mansour family, and their inlaws, have prospered in the peace that Prime Minister Shimon Peres has celebrated throughout his campaign. While most Arab Israelis vote for obscure leftist Arab parties, Israel's Arab elite generally hopes to maintain the relative peace which is now prevailing in Israel. The Mansour family will likely support Peres in Wednesday's election.

- Daniel speaks to Khulu Sibiya, the Editor in Chief of City Press, a leading newspaper in South Africa, about the recent revelations that have surfaced during the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Several top ex-leaders including the former President of South Africa Pieter W. Botha are alleged to have had a major role in killings during the years of apartheid. The allegations were made this week during confessions by several high ranking police officers who admit to taking part in the killings.

General Barry McCaffrey, wrapped up two days of talks in Mexico City yesterday. The U.S. officials and their Mexican counterparts promised stepped-up efforts to stem the flow of narcotics across the border.

who perform in New York City's subway. The C.D. is called " Subplay" and it mixes 10 different styles, from blues to jazz to Chinese folk music. " Subplay" was produced by two young native New Yorkers who grew up listening to subway concerts.

Alan Cheuse reviews the translation of Jules Verne's lost manuscript Paris in the 20th Century, which has just been published in the U-S. The story was written over one hundred and thirty years ago, and describes what Paris might be like in the 1960's. It would be a city in which art is consumed by science and business and which people communicate by a machine eerily similiar to a fax machine. Paris in the 20th Century is published by Random House.