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A remembrance for comedian Steve Allen, who has died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 78. Allen was a pioneer of late night TV, as the original host of The Tonight Show on NBC in 1954. His prolific career in entertainment also included record albums, movies, Broadway shows, work as a disc jockey and forty books.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome that an Italian cardinal has denounced the growing popularity of Halloween as an unwelcome foreign import. Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini urged Italian children to follow traditional Catholic rituals honoring the dead tomorrow, November first -- when the Church celebrates as All Saints' Day. Italian sociologists worry about a revival of witchcraft. Until a few years ago, Halloween was unknown in Italy. This year, jack-o-lanterns adorn shop windows, and children are dressing up as witches and vampires.

Both Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush say they support a patients' bill of rights, and both make the issue part of the daily stump speeches. But while Gore has been very specific about his support for a bill that is stalled in Congress, Bush has kept avoided talk of too many details. As NPR's Julie Rovner reports, Bush's generalities about the issues sometimes conflict with one another, but not so much as to roil voters.

Robert talks to NPR's Eric Westervelt about the dismissal of attempted murder and assault charges against two New Jersey state troopers in a 1988 shooting on the New Jersey Turnpike. In dismissing the charges, the judge said prosecutors had abused their power and used unfair tactics. The troopers -- both white -- had argued that they fired in self defense injuring three of four men in a van they had pulled over for speeding. All four of those men are minorities. The case raised concerns about racial profiling. A remaining indictment against the troopers alleges the troopers tried to hid information about the race of the motorists.

Critic Tom Moon reviews the new CD from the rock band P.J. Harvey, called Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea. The band is led by British singer/songwriter Polly Jean Harvey, who has earned a certain reputation for intensity. Her songs move from feverish punk distortion to rich acoustic blues, always with a heavy gloomy atmosphere. There is a sense of lives unraveling and promises shattered for her songs' characters. (4:45) Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, is out today from Island Records, catalog # Islf 15162-2. See http://www.pjharvey.net or http://www.islandrecords.com for more information.

NPR's Nina Totenberg reports on the arguments before the Supreme Court today on whether Clean Water regulations apply to a body of water contained within a state, but used as habitat by migrating birds. The justices are being asked to rule on whether the fate of the body of water is of concern only to that state, or, because of the impact on the birds, to the larger environment.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports Mexican authorities have begun evicting some foreign residents, including Americans, from their homes on a disputed piece of the Baja peninsula, a coastal area just south of California. The Mexican Supreme Court has ordered that the land be returned to a Mexican company, saying that the company was wrongfully stripped of the land almost 30 years ago. The high court acknowledged that the foreign residents were unaware of the title problem when they built their homes, but said they still must vacate. Authorities gathered in force to carry out the order and changed the locks as soon as the foreign residents had left. The U.S. Consul General in Tijuana says some 350 households have received eviction notices.

NPR's Madeline Brand reports on Vice President Al Gore's short campaign trip ahead of Tuesday's third and final debate with Republican Presidential candidate George W. Bush. Gore has been raising the issue of health care in stump speeches since his last Presidential debate.

Host Lisa Simeone talks with Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, in Princeton, N.J. about recent polls with undecided voters who are steadfast in their uncertainty: up to one in four voters say they haven't made a final choice between Vice President Al Gore or Texas Governor George Bush for the Presidential election this year.

Lisa talks with Bruce Cumings, from Stanford University, about the South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, who this week was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.