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Los Angeles film critic Kenneth Turan reviews the new movie Meet the Parents. It stars Ben Stiller as a prospective son-in-law who needs to win over his girlfriend's over-protective father before he can propose. Turan says both Stiller and Robert De Niro, who plays the father, turn in solidly comic performances in a film that has wide appeal.

The second debate between Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore was more polite than the first, but there were contentious moments. Gore criticized the Texas governor's record on health care and hate crime legislation, citing statistics from Bush's home state. Robert talks to Dave McNeely, political columnist for the Austin American Statesman. He joins us by phone from Austin, Texas.

Deborah Amos continues her series on the multi-billion-dollar illegal drug trade in America. Today's report focuses on controversial law enforcement practices, including the seizure of drug money and assets such as cars to help fund the war on drugs. In some cases undercover informers are paid with percentages of drug money that they help seize. Critics, including some law enforcement officers, say the procedures are ripe for corruption. There's more at http://www.npr.org/news/specials/drugwars/.

NPR's Ted Clark reports on the United States' reaction to the crumbling situation in the Middle East in the face of recent terrorist acts in Yemen against the U.S. and Britain and increasing violence in Israel.

Violence also erupted elsewhere in the Middle East today. Israeli helicopter gunships launched attacks against Palestinian targets. Among the targets: the headquarters of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Gaza City. Arafat was not injured. Israel says the attacks are in retaliation for the killing of Israeli soldiers. Three soldiers had made a wrong turn into Palestinian territory, and sought refuge at Palestinian police station. But a mob of hundreds of Palestinians surrounded the building, and beat at least two of the soldiers to death. Mike Shuster of NPR News talks to host Robert Siegel about the incidents.

NPR's Richard Knox reports on clues to the earth's formation that are falling from the sky. Last January, a real estate agent in Canada witnessed the crash of a meteorite he described as a gigantic white light from the sky. A week later an amateur scientist discovered pieces of the meteorite, collected and preserved them in the freezer. Scientists now say it's the best sample they have yet to study how the earth was formed.

NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that two of the nation's largest oil companies are merging. Chevron is acquiring Texaco in a stock swap valued at more than 35-billion dollars. The deal announced today is seen as an answer to other recent mergers in the oil industry, including the mergers of Exxon and Mobil and British Petroleum with Amoco. The new company will be called Chevron Texaco and will be headquartered in San Francisco.

Thousands of people responded to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan's call to the Million Family March today on the National Mall in Washington. The gathering marks the fifth anniversary of the Million Man March. Unlike the previous event, organizers invited women, as well as people of all races and religions. The audience listened to speakers address the glories of family life and the dangers to families, including drug abuse and racism.

In the Port of Aden, Yemen, divers are searching water-filled areas of the U.S.S. Cole for bodies of the crew members caught in last week's explosion. They're using metal cutters to clear their way through the wreckage. The Defense Department says a small boat armed with explosives rammed the side of the Navy Destroyer in a terrorist attack, killing 17 sailors. Noah talks to John Burns of The New York Times, who is stationed in Yemen, about the ongoing search for victims, the investigation into the attack, and the cooperation of the Yemeni government.

The "NPR Players" react to the constant stream of mergers in our society. In a series of commercial spoofs, they attempt to capture the constant transformations of companies and company names.