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Instead of chatting with Alex Trebek at the top of the show, Michael Pascuzzi used that time to ask his girlfriend Maria a big question. Remembering the show's format, she answered, "What is yes?"

The Puerto Rican rapper only performs in Spanish — a sign of the growing power of Hispanic music. It's the first time an artist who never sings in English tops the year-end list.

NPR'S Martha Raddatz reports on yesterday's terrorist truck bombing at a military complex near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia which killed 19 Americans and injured hundreds more. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. U.S. President Clinton today vowed to punish those responsible for the 'murderous act', and said he would make the terrorism issue his top priority at this week's G-7 summit. Secretary of State Warren Christopher, travelling in the Middle East, has changed his itinerary and flown to Saudi Arabia to vist wounded servicemen. It is the worst terrorist attack against U.S. interests in the region since the bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983.

A cadre of the nation's top television executives met with President Clinton today at the White House and pledged to institute a violence ratings system that could be used along with the so-called violence or "V-chip" that, under the recently passed Telecommunications Act, manufacturers will be obliged to install in all new television sets. The TV execs, whom President Clinton called "the most powerful cultural force in the world", were under pressure to come up with their own voluntary system or else be forced to comply with an FCC-developed ratings system called for under the Act. NPR's Phillip Davis reports.

Deborah talks with Robert Young Pelton, the publisher of "Fielding's the World's Most Dangerous Places" (Fielding Worldwide: Redondo Beach CA, 1995). It's a travel guide to the most dangerous places in the world where tourists might want to visit. It explains what to expect, what to be careful of, and how to negotiate potentially dire circumstances; and, on top of being thorough and informative, the guide is very funny! (For more information, contact http://www.fieldingtravel.com) Deborah then talks with John McBride, a garbage collector who lives in Kidderminster, England. He's a bit of a celebrity in his community for his travels to dangerous places, like Rwanda, El Salvador, and he plans future trips to Chechnya and Zaire.

With the polls showing that Bob Dole is gaining little ground on President Clinton in this year's presidential race, GOP strategists are deciding how to save their congressional candidates from duplicating the top of the ticket's lack of success in appealing to voters. NPR's Phillip Davis talks with Republican state leaders about how they hope to get their voters to the polls to support the party's ideals as well as their congressional candidates. In Texas, for example, Republican strategists are running congressional campaigns that are independent of the presidential race, stressing the negative aspects of what it would be like to have both Congress and the White House controlled by Democrats; in Florida, campaign advisors are focusing on voter turnout rather than on the Dole-Kemp message.

NPR's Ina Jaffe reports on the testimony in the punitive damages phase of the OJ Simpson civil trial. Lawyers for both sides wrapped up testimony today over how much money OJ Simpson has available to pay punitive damages, on top of the 8.5 million dollars in compensatory damages already awarded to the families of the victims . Witnesses for the plaintiffs contend that Simpson will be able to earn millions of dollars from autograph signings and book deals. But Simpson's lawyers say he is already broke and can't be expected to pay more.

U.S. officials disclose they're holding a man they believe to be al Qaeda's top operative in the Persian Gulf region. Authorities say Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is suspected of planning the U.S.S. Cole attack in Yemen, was arrested "in recent weeks" and is being held at an undisclosed location. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.

Pianist Chuck Leavell made a name for himself as a rock 'n' roll musician and pianist-for-hire for top bands like the Rolling Stones and Blues Traveler. When he's not on tour, Leavell tends to his other passion -- he's an award-winning tree farmer. Morning Edition host Bob Edwards talks with Leavell about how this rock musician became interested in tree farming.

The hostility that has characterized the China-Taiwan relationship for the past year seems to have abated. NPR's Rob Gifford tells Noah Adams that this week Taiwan allowed the first legal direct shipping from Taiwanese-held islands to mainland China. And Taiwan's top policymaker indicated China might be more flexible than in the past on the issue of one China. China always has insisted that Taiwan accept the concept of one China, including Taiwan, with Beijing as the capital. But in an interview yesterday, a high-level official indicated Beijing might consider a broader definition of what constitutes one China.