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Advances in medicine have made it possible for very small pre-term babies to survive. But these infants who survive still face high risks of developing disabilities. A study published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine puts some hard numbers to the rates of pre-term disabilities. This will help doctors and parents understand, at least statistically, what a baby's chances are for normal development. NPR's Allison Aubrey has this report.

Volcanologist and resident geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey DAN MILLER. He also heads the Survey's Volcano Disaster Assistance program which helps developing countries in the event of volcanic eruption. MILLER was part of the team of geologists who studied Mt. St. Helens and predicted a blast before the turn of this last century. Mt. St. Helens blew May 18th, 1980. His team studied the frequency and past characteristics of eruption in Mt. St. Helens and put together hazard assessments for local officials. MILLER and his team are profiled in the new book "Volcano Cowboys: The Rocky Evolution of a Dangerous Science" by Dick Thompson.12:28:30 FORWARD PROMO (:29)12:29:00 I.D. BREAK (:59)12:

Mark Moran of member station KJZZ reports on efforts by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to crackdown on illegal immigrants in the southwestern United States. The smuggling of undocumented immigrants has become a multi-billion industry in the US and the INS hopes to curb the practice through a new initiative called operation denial.

From Maine Public Radio Charlotte Renner reports on recent changes to Maine's campaign finance legislation.

Host Howard Berkes talks to Robert Blendon of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government about the accuracy and meaning of polls. Blendon says the farther away from an election, the less accurate the poll. He also says that respondents are reluctant to admit they won't vote for candidates from minority groups.

Janet Heimlich reports form Brownsville, Texas, where a jury decided not to award punitive damages to a Tejano family who sued to regain lost profits from mineral rights discovered on their former land. Last week, the same jury gave the Balli family 1.1 million dollars in compensatory damages; the case is potentially groundbreaking since it could open the door to similar claims by Mexican American families.

Host Howard Berkes talks to Historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, about her research into the countries of origin of African-Americans. While preparing her 1992 book, Africans in Colonial America, Hall discovered court documents that indicated where enslaved Africans said they came from. The information was overlooked for more than 200 years, largely because the documents were in French or Spanish. Hall's findings are of particular interest to African Americans who want to trace their ancestry.

Howard Berkes talks with naturalist Craig Childs, author of The Secret Knowledge of Water: The Essence of the American Desert. Childs documented his cross-country trek through the deserts of North America as he searched for water holes, small springs, and other signs of water. His quest took him to a place most experienced desert hikers avoid: directly in the path of a flash flood. (8:20) The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert by Craig Leland Childs is published by Sasquatch Books; ISBN: 15706

David D'Arcy reports on Filmmaker John Waters and his new movie, Cecil B. Demented. The film's main character seems loosely based on Waters' own life; Cecil B. Demented is a director of shock cinema and has attracted a cult-like following. But unlike Waters, Demented is a terrorist who targets bad cinema for destruction.

From his childhood in Carthage, Tennessee and Washington D.C., Al Gore was raised not just to be a politician but to be a Democratic presidential candidate. Next week in Los Angeles, Al Gore will take the penultimate step toward fulfilling his lifelong goal when he becomes the Democratic Party's nominee for the White House. NPR's Anthony Brooks reports.