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In a report from the annual International Monetary Fund/World Bank meeting in Prague, NPR's Julie McCarthy says managing director Horst Koehler is eager to show that the IMF has become more attentive to the needs of Third World nations it is trying to help. Asian nations in particular felt the IMF imposed unduly harsh conditions in exchange for debt relief during their financial crisis in the late nineties. Faced with planned protests by an array of activists, Koehler also said the IMF is now listening to the concerns of a broad range of non-governmental organizations.

Robert talks to Mimi Sheraton, author of The Bialy Eaters: The Story of the Lost Bread and a Lost World, about the book. It recounts her journey to Bialystok, Poland, where the bread rolls with roasted onions in the middle get their name. There she found the story of a Jewish community which numbered 50,000 before World War Two, and now is reduced to just five people. No bialys remain, either. She then went on a round the world journey to find Bialystok survivors. (6:00) The Bialy Eaters: The Story of the Lost Bread and a Lost World, by Mimi Sheraton, is published by Broadway Books, 9/12/00.

Every Wednesday this election season, All Things Considered is airing excerpts of speeches by presidential candidates. Today we hear first from Republican candidate George W. Bush, in portion of a speech delivered Monday in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Linda speaks with Rex Gephart, head of the Los Angeles MTA's "Metro Rapid" program, which aims to reduce bus travel times by 25 percent. As part of the plan, the MTA has equipped two of its major bus lines with a new device that hold a green lights for approaching buses. Gephart says ridership has increased significantly on the lines being tested. He says L.A. is the first city in the U.S. to implement so-called "signal priority" so extensively.

Commentator Joanne Kaufman just got her drivers license -- at age 41. Her ultimate road test was a trip to the drugstore. She talks about what she missed not being able to drive, the freedom it would have meant as a teenager. Driving solo as an adult is a defining moment she wants to tell everyone about, but the destinations and reasons to drive are different.

Host Bob Edwards talks to NPR's Tom Goldman about the opening ceremonies at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Today, an estimated crowd of 110-thousand cheering fans welcomed athletes from around the world as they marched into the newly minted stadium.

NPR's Joanne Silberner reports on political plans to help Medicare recipients pay for prescription drugs. The new Republican proposal would have states use federal money to help low-income seniors.

NPR's Anthony Brooks reports on Republican claims that Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore participated in illegal fundraising activities during the 1996 campaign. Gore ignored the allegations and stuck to his script at a campaign stop in New Hampshire.

Host Bob Edwards talks to reporter Richard Galpin about the latest developments in the investigation of an explosion at the Jakarta Stock Exchange. Indonesia's President Abdurrahman Wahid ordered the arrest of Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra the youngest son of ex-dictator Suharto, two days after the deadly explosion that killed 15 people and injured dozens more.

Republican Presidential candidate George W. Bush has sharply criticized the Clinton administration's national defense policy. He says the Clinton White House has undermined the U.S. military and let the defense forces decline. Bush has promised to "re-build" the military. But there are questions about how the candidate would pay for it. Though he has talked about a major upgrade, his actual proposal only involves a very small spending increase. NPR Pentagon Correspondent Steve Inskeep reports.