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has fired three top officials including chief bodyguard and confidante, Alexander Korzhakov. The three are suspected of trying to block the second round of Presidential voting.

Commentator Captain Rosemary Mariner calls for a return to the concept of "vertical accountability" in the military. Recent allegations of sexual misconduct in in Army training schools violate one of the most basic moral concepts in the military; if these are allegations are true, we should be disciplining people at the top of the pyramid, not the bottom.

One of President Clinton's top goals for his second term is to improve the nation's education system. NPR's Mara Liasson reports that in the coming year, the president will push for the passage of a college tuition tax credit and for federal funding of a national literacy program, in an effort to stop the slide of America's elementary and secondary schools.

NPR'S MaryKay Magistad reports that Secretary Warren Christopher met today with China's top leaders to forge a better relationship between the United States and China. Though there was no official statement made, progress was made on several issues, including nuclear non-proliferation.

John Dillon reports Vermonters are worried the results of last week's election might be felt in the Green Mountain State. Vermont enjoyed significant power while Democrats controlled the United States Senate. Now the GOP's on top, and Sens. Jim Jeffords and Patrick Leahy may be out in the cold.

Robert Siegel talks to Margo Wallstrom, the European Commission's top environmental official, about her visit to Washington today, and her discussion with EPA Administrator Christie Whitman. Wallstrom conveyed strong European concerns about the decision by the Bush administration not to ratify the Kyoto treaty on greenhouse gas emissions.

NPR's David Welna reports on today's action in the House of Representatives on the proposed repeal of estate taxes. The plan would reduce the top rate of 55 percent to 39 percent by 2010, and then phase it out altogether in 2011. It's a move that is expected to cost $193 billion over the next 10 years.

Popular magazines for people of color are gaining ground in mainstream publishing. Editors of three top magazines for women of color — Essence, East West and Latina — talk about the mission of their publications.

The charity group Doctors Without Borders releases its seventh-annual "Top 10 Most Underreported Humanitarian Stories of 2004" list. NPR's Tony Cox runs through the list with the executive director of Doctors Without Borders, Nicolas de Torrenté.

The top of 14,000-foot Mauna Kea, a dormant volcano on the big island of Hawaii, is one of the last best places to do astronomy. But astronomers now have devised a way to make "the seeing," as they call it, even better. Join NPR's Christopher Joyce for a visit to Mauna Kea.