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Commentator David Brooks talks about the "Big Thinkers" tent on the National Mall that's part of President Clinton's second inauguration festivities. He says that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have many "big ideas," and that they're making up for their lack of ideology by becoming scandal-mongers.

for adaptations to the rudders of the 737 airliner. The move follows two unsolved crashes of the world's most-used airliner because of suspicions that sudden rudder movements caused the plane to become uncontrollable.

NPR's Elizabeth Arnold talks with Noah about the implications of the report on House Speaker Newt Gingrich. Many see Gingrich as a weakened leader, and say the ethics problems have shifted more power to the Senate and Majority Leader Trent Lott.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr remembers a conversation he had with Nikita Krushchev about the Soviet invasion of Hungary, and what the recent release of some old Soviet documents reveals.

The dramaturg for the hit Broadway musical "Rent" is suing the estate of the show's late author. Lynn Thompson claims that her contributions went far beyond the fee she was paid. Thompson wants 16% of playwright Jonathan Larson's royalties. She says she did extensive rewriting, and was more of a co-creator than the mere "editor" that the Larson estate says she was. The suit is creating some worry in the theater world about whether it will have a chilling effect on the often informal creative collaborations that occur among playwrights, directors, and other theater professionals. NPR's Melissa Block reports.

NPR's Eric Westervelt reports on the arraignments of an Army captain and two staff sergeants at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. The charges include rape, sodomy and sexual assualt. The accusations - which surfaced last month - touched off a wave of sexual misconduct reports throughout the Army. The soldiers will face trial early next year.

We note the publication today of the 116th Statistical Abstract of the United States. The 1,000-plus page book is a listing of numbers about births, deaths, the use of automatic teller machines ... just about everything measurable in American life.

with NPR's Don Gonyea. Carmakers sold more than 15 million vehicles, the most since 1988. But the industry did have its troubles...like the labor strikes at General Motors and questions about the safety of airbags and anti-lock brakes.

In an interview first aired on December 31st, 1991, Robert talks to Hugh McDonald, head of music for BBC Radio Scotland, about the correct pronunciation of the phrase "Auld Lang Syne." McDonald says that the majority of people who will sing that song as the old year passes away will pronounce the word "syne" as "zyne," which is incorrect; the correct pronunciation is "sine" (as in cosine and tangent). We also hear a performance of the song by Irish singer Susan McKeown (muh-KEEN) and bassist Lindsey Horner to a melody different from the one we are used to hearing. They also perform the song on a cassette, "Through the Bitter Frost and Snow."

Bailey White's story concludes.