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Officials and experts say the sanctions will be targeted at officials involved in a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters this year, and won't make life even harder for average Venezuelans.

Host Bob Edwards talks to Clarence Wyatt, co-chair of the debate steering committee at Center College in Danville, Kentucky, about the possibility that his college and town won't be the site of a Vice-Presidential debate after all. The bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates had scheduled one for October 5th, but the Bush- Cheney campaign omitted Danville from its list of approved venues. The town has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars and countless hours in preparing for the event.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports that Congress is expected to approve today a measure that would send some 280-thousand furloughed federal employees back to work next week. They and another 500-thousand federal workers who have been on the job without pay since December 16 would receive back wages. However, most of the agencies they work for would remain closed. The plan was agreed to by House Republicans who last night rejected a broader back-to-work proposals. The plan would also fund for the rest of the fiscal year other programs, including Aid to Families with Dependent Children.

NPR's Brooke Gladstone reports on the long-awaited television rating system, which was unveiled today. A TV industry group chose an age-based plan that child advocates say doesn't give parents enough specific information about a program's sexual or violent content. The proposed six-tiered system is designed to work with the so-called "V-chip" to allow parents to block unwanted shows. The ratings plan is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission. President Clinton thanked the industry group that came up with the voluntary plan and said it will be up to parents and child advocates to use, evaluate and comment on the system's effectiveness, once it's implemented.

Steve Young of Vermont Public Radio reports on the turmoil in that state's politics, since the state legislature voted to approve civil unions. Governor Howard Dean, a once-popular Democrat who had been a shoo-in for re-election, has come under heavy criticism from an anti-civil union movement called "Take Back Vermont." Even if Dean survives, his fellow Democrats in the legislature, who constitute a majority, may not. The anger may last beyond Election Day.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that Japan's Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori met today with other leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party. After saying this weekend that he would step down as prime minister, he now says he did NOT offer to resign. His party is reportedly exasperated with Mori, whose approval rating has dropped into single digit range. Mori will likely be a lame duck by the time he meets President Bush on March 19th at the White House.

The Georgia state house has approved a bill that would levy a 5-percent surcharge on wire transfers by illegal immigrants to their native countries. State lawmakers are seeking to stem the tide of undocumented workers and recoup the cost of providing public services to them.

GlaxoSmithKlein, the manufacturer of the antidepressant Paxil, has released on its company Web site reports of unpublished clinical tests of that drug in children and adolescents suffering from depression. Paxil is not approved for use in children but some doctors have prescribed it off label. SmithKline officials have denied that they selectively disclosed clinical trial findings. This is the first time that this data on Paxil have been made public and NPR's Joanne Silberner looks at whether it will give a different picture of the safety and efficacy of the drug.

Bloomington Aldermen will consider initiating the rezoning process for several properties on the city's west side during Monday night's meeting.The…

In 1890, a young woman fell in love. Her father didn't approve of the man so they wrote letters and left them in a knothole in the oak. The BBC reports the tree is responsible for dozens of marriages.