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Scott Bard reports from London on the fear raging through Europe over a possible link between "mad cow disease" and a deadly human brain disease. Yesterday the British Health Minister said a group of scientists had found the bovine disease the most likely explanation for the human fatalities -- spurring several European countries to ban or consider banning British beef.

NPR's Joe Palca reports that the National Academy of Sciences has issued an update about what's known about the health effects of Agent Orange. The new report for the first time says there is evidence suggesting that Agent Orange may increase the risk for spina bifida among children of Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to the defoliant.

presidential election. Perot was a third-party candidate in 1992; when he got 19-percent of the national vote.

of a woman from Southern Africa, known as the "Hottentot Venus," who was exhibited at freak shows in France during the early 1800's. The South African government wants a French museum to return Saartjie Baartmann's remains, as well as a plaster replica of her body.

Commentator Mickey Edwards says the government should not meddle in Amercians' decision to die.

Using scrap tires as fill to build roads is becoming a popular way to solve the nationwide surfeit of used tires. But Jennie Schmidt of member station K-P-L-U in Seattle reports that two roads built with tire chips have been burning for months, and leaching noxious chemicals into nearby water. It could put an end to this novel form of recycling.

Sue Simpson reports on South Africa's efforts to integrate its public schools following the collapse of apartheid. Last month a group of white parents in a small town made international headlines when they tried to prevent black students from attending their local school. But that dispute was not representative of what's going on throughout South Africa. While there is white resentment, integration is moving forward.

NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that foreign policy, once thought to be less imporant than domestic policy during a presidential election season, is fast becoming an issue with the recent crises in Cuba, Israel and Northern Ireland.

and the growing disparity between the richest and poorest sections of society.