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Linda and Robert read letters from All Things Considered listeners. (3:00) To contact All Things Considered, write to All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20001. The e-mail address is atc@npr.org.

Commentator Jeanne Brennan says that it's more important to help students and teachers during the school year so that they don't need summer school to catch up.

Plans for a World War Two monument on the National Mall in Washington, seem to be moving forward despite opposition from some groups (including some veterans). Those opposed say the design and location would clutter the National Mall; violate the integrity of the Lincoln Memorial and its' surroundings; and may even be illegal. Alex Van Oss reports.

Linda talks to S.L. Price, senior writer at Sports Illustrated, about Cuban baseball player Andy Morales, who has repeatedly tried to defect from Cuba to the United States. Morales is currently being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, after successfully crossing the Florida Strait to an island off Key West.

The House has passed two measures that would loosen the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. One would end enforcement of the ban on sales of food and drugs to Cuba; the other would end enforcement of the ban on travel by Americans to Cuba. It's uncertain that either provision will become law this year, because Senate Majority Leader Trentt Lott is opposed to any easing of restrictions against Cuba.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports that the marriage tax penalty reduction bill was passed in Congress. President Clinton is expected to veto it because of changes which add up to $50-Billion dollars over ten years. The bill is part of a Republican strategy to parcel out tax reduction votes one at a time over the presidential campaign season.

NPR's Anne Sutton reports on the shortfall in salmon returns in Western Alaskan waters for the second year in a row. State Governor Tony Knowles has already started the paperwork to provide state aid; now the state is seeking federal assistance too.

Robert talks with Khalil Shikaki, Director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. He joins us from his home in Ramallah, to talk about public opinion of the Camp David summit among Palestinians.

NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports that kids are attending summer schools in record numbers. In St. Louis, about half of all students are enrolled in summer classes. Parents, teachers and police are pleased with the trend. And lots of kids seem to enjoy summer school, too. But the evidence is mixed on whether it improves academic performance.

There's a poem about neutrinos that many physicists have tacked to their walls. It's by John Updike, and it's titled, Cosmic Gall. (1:00) Click here to read the poem