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Robert talks to two people in Israel about the timing of the demonstrations. Khalil Shikasi, a professor of political science at the Najah University in Nablus. He says that the Palestinians fear that the new opening of a tunnel into the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem is part of an effort to de-Islamize the city so it can never be the capital of Palestine. Ze'ev Chafets, a columnist for the Jerusalem Report, says that the opening of the tunnel by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu was thoughtless and provocative. In addition, he says, the TV images of Palestinian police firing on Israeli soldiers are frightening to the Israeli public.

While investigating a report of suspected child abuse, New York City police got a surprise: they uncovered a cache of weapons hidden in a false closet in a house in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood. Thirty-five people were taken into custody, believed to be members of a small group called the Provisional Party of Communism. While only five have been charged, the case will go to a grand jury for further investigation into who the group is, and what they were planning. NPR's Melissa Block reports.

Beth Fertig of member station WNYC in New York reports on a decision there that will greatly centralize decision-making authority in the city schools. The decision, made in Albany this week, will roll back nearly 3 decades of local control over key hiring and firing decisions. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani says the shift will enable the school chancellor, Rudy Crew, to eliminate patronage and corruption in the local school boards, but many parents fear they will lose an important voice in the children's education.

Liane is joined by John Kornblum, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Canadian Affairs, to discuss the latest attempts to pressure Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic ( SLOH-bow-dahn mih-LOH-seh-vitch) into accepting opposition victories in municipal elections. This past week, Milosevic conceded an opposition victory in Serbia's second largest city, Nis (NEESH). Secretary Kornblum has said the international community will not impose full sanctions on Serbia. But, the U-S is looking at other ways to punish the Communist leader for failing to embrace democracy. 5:34.

Virginia Cherril Martini, who played the blind flower girl in Charlie Chaplin's 1931 movie "City Lights," died last Thursday at the age of 88. Noah talks to Patrick Loughney of the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division/Moving Image Section of the Library of Congress about her famous final scene with Chaplin and the movie's significance in film history. Loughney says Cherril was able to capture the essence of the blind girl, without being pitiful. That final scene took months of rehearsal.

in the Oklahoma City bombing case. Defense lawyers question the memories of several eyewitnesses federal prosecutors plan to call to the stand when the criminal trial begins in March. Defense teams for bombing suspects Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols will be in court today asking the judge to hold a hearing to decide whether the witnesses should be allowed to testify.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Tirana, Albania, on the eerie calm that has taken over the capital. Most residents are waiting to see if President Sali Berisha (solly buh-REESH-uh) will respond to an ultimatum that he resign...an ultimatum that comes from rebels in the southern part of the country. In Tirana, armed police are trying to recover control of the airport in order to re-open it tomorrow. Other cities in Albania are still terrorized by armed gangs. One report said most court houses have been burned or damaged, the judicial files burned. Nearly all the country's jails have been destroyed and the prisoners freed.

Residents near the Hunts Point Market in the South Bronx pressure city leaders to make quality, affordable food available to them. The market imports huge quantities of food each day for shipment across the country, but skips over nearby groceries. NPR's Nancy Solomon reports.

There's a catch: Domestic travelers don't get to choose where they go — the routes are random. They include cities like Okinawa and Sapporo. More than 3,000 flights have been sold since August.

This past week marked the 59th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the event that ushered the U.S. into World War Two. The day after the bombing, the Library of Congress sent archivists out onto the streets of Washington, D.C., to record people's reactions to the event. As part of our American Talker series, we present a sampling of that historic tape. (3:00)For more information on the American Talker series from Sound Portraits Productions and City Lore in New York, visit their website at http://www.soundportraits.com.