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Noah talks to Stacy Jessop, a teacher at Corvallis Middle School in CorvalLis, Montana, about being evacuated from her home to avoid an oncoming wildfire. She's now staying at a Red Cross shelter at Westview Middle School in the town of Hamilton, Montana. She says she could hear the fire roaring nearby as she fled her house with her family. She also describes an effort to retrieve her wedding ring and her family's pets.

Gay civil rights activist Candace Gingrich talks about Mary Cheney -- the openly gay daughter of Republican Vice Presidential candidate Dick Cheney. Ms. Gingrich says that Mary is now in a difficult position because her father supports a GOP platform that is hostile to homosexuals. Candace also talks about her experience having a brother -- former House Speaker Newt Gingrich -- who is opposed to equal rights for homosexuals.

The Senate today passed a bill that would phase out the nation's inheritance tax over the next 10 years. The vote was 59 to 39 --- with 9 Democrats joining all but 4 of the Republicans in the majority. But the vote was not sufficient to override President Clinton's promised veto. before final passage, the Senate stripped all of its own amendments from the bill, so as to match the bill passed by the House and send the measure directly to the President's desk. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

Linda speaks with Larry Lozier, the owner of the Hyde Park, NY house, who found Mastodon bones in his back yard. The bones were discovered after he decided to dredge and deepened the pond in his yard. What appeared to be a log turned out to be a big bone. He called local colleges, but no one believed him, until he called Dr. Christopher Lindner at Bard College. Now he has a team of scientists excavating his pond.

NPR's Pam Fessler reports on the Democrats' push to get their agenda acted on during these final weeks of the 106th Congress. Led by President Clinton, Senate Leader Tom Daschle and House Leader Richard Gephardt, the Democrats once again urged passage of an increase in the minimum wage and a patients' bill of rights. But both parties know that much of what is going on maybe less about legislation and more about gaining the electoral advantage as November 7 approaches.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is rallying Democrats to in an attempt to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure bill Thursday.

John visits the Schaghticoke Indian reservation, located in western Connecticut, near the town of Kent. The Schaghticoke are seeking federal recognition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They say recognition would give them access to government programs that would improve their housing, education, and healthcare. But some residents and government leaders fear the Schaghticoke will follow the lead of other Native American tribes and build a large casino in rural Connecticut.

NPR's David Welna reports on the battle to succeed Dick Gephardt as the leading of the Democrats in the House. Two candidates have emerged: Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco liberal and the current Democratic whip, and Martin Frost, a centrist Texas Democrat who is making ideology his campaign theme. Frost says it would be a mistake for the Democrats to turn to the left in the wake of their disappointing showing in this year's midterm elections.

The House concludes its last session of the 107th Congress after passing legislation creating a new Homeland Security Department. But lawmakers fail to extend unemployment benefits that are due to expire three days after Christmas. NPR's David Welna reports.

Results of post-election polls confirm that President Bush's aggressive campaigning for GOP candidates did much to help Republicans regain control of the Senate and improve their advantage in the House. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.