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- Daniel talks with curator Betsy Walsh of the Folger Shakespeare Library (Washington, DC) about "Yesterday's News," an exhibition about the forerunner of today's newspapers - the "newsbook." News accounts in 17th Century England were sold in stores, posted on street corners, and even sung by balladeers. They contained many of the kinds of stories newspapers report on today.

Noah speaks with Elizabeth Marshall Thomas, author of "Certain Poor Shepherds", a fictional account of the first Christmas and the travels of a dog and goat drawn by the star over Bethlehem. The question, "Do animals have a sense of divinity?" was raised, and Thomas, who also wrote "The Hidden Life of Dogs", says they do.

From Moscow, NPR's Andy Bowers reports that Russian President Boris Yeltsin has appeared on television, fifteen days after heart bypass surgery. He said he is in what he called "a fighting mood". He also told Kremlin officials they will be held accountable for their actions while he has been away.

Harvey Pitt resigns as chairman of the Securities Exchange Commission. Pitt had a stormy tenure as SEC chief and was recently under fire for his handling of the appointment of William Webster to head an accounting oversight board. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports.

As the reconnaissance plane standoff continues, the Chinese government must take into account the opinions of its own people, even though the political voice of the masses is muted. The public mood is one of anger and disappointment at the United States. NPR's Rob Gifford samples opinion outside the U.S. embassy and in McDonalds in Beijing.

Yesterday, a helicopter crashed some 250 miles south of Hanoi in Vietnam, killing 7 Americans and 9 Vietnamese on board. All the Americans are said to have been involved in the U.S. military's program to recover Americans missing in action from the Vietnam War. NPR's Emily Harris reports on the scope of the Joint Task Force operation, titled Full Accounting.

President Bush's privatization plan for Social Security carries potential benefits and pitfalls for Wall Street. Private accounts could mean a windfall for investment firms and fund managers, but the financial industry remains largely silent on the issue. Mike Pesca reports.

President Bush has proposed a plan for Social Security that allows individuals to place certain payroll taxes in private investment accounts. Senior News Analyst NPR's Daniel Schorr explains that the idea is somewhat controversial, even within the ranks of the president's own party.

New York Times reporter Dexter Filkins has been covering the recent elections in Iraq. In April, he received the George Polk Award for War Reporting for "his riveting, first-hand account of an eight-day attack on Iraqi insurgents in Falluja."

Many news editorials are calling on Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign over hard evidence that American soldiers have been mistreating Iraqi prisoners. Host Scott Simon talks to Bill Emmott, editor of The Economist, the British weekly, about accountability, and why he believes the Rumsfeld should step down.