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Host Bob Edwards shares listener comments about our recent stories in our weekly letters segment.

NPR's Robert Smith reports from Seattle on the decision by principals at several suburban schools to restrict the delivery of flowers, balloons, and other gifts to students during the school day. At homecoming, Valentine's Day, prom, and graduation, the large volume of deliveries has become a nuisance to school employees and a distraction to students.

Despite an air crash that claimed the life of Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan last night, the two major presidential candidates decided to hold their debate tonight in St. Louis as planned. Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush are each taking time to remember Carnahan during the 90 minute meeting, which features a town hall format. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports from Mexico City on efforts to fight the spread of the AIDS virus, especially among the migrant worker population. Six cross-border programs have been established to provide educational and other resources, but researchers say migrant laborers who contract the virus in the United States and then come home to their families, often spread the virus deep inside Mexico, to areas where there are no AIDS programs. The campaign to halt the spread of AIDS also is hindered by cultural taboos that make it difficult to educate the population and change people's behavior.

NPR's Mandalit Del Barco reports that both sides have reached a tentative agreement in the month-long public transit strike in Los Angeles. If the union and transit authority ratify the accord, buses could be back on the road tomorrow.

NPR's Julie Rovner looks at health care policies President Clinton has established by executive order, often because he could not get them through Congress in legislation. Those items are subject to change under whoever takes over the White House next. Some of those policies deal with patients' rights and abortion.

Noah talks with Richard Ben Cramer, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the new book Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life, about two personalities of the man known as The Yankee Clipper, Joltin' Joe DiMaggio: the elegant athlete and national icon, and the intensely private man, distant and eaten up by resentments of Mickey Mantle and others. (7:45) Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life, by Richard Ben Cramer is published by Simon and Schuster, ISBN # 0-684-85391-4.

Robert talks with Itamar Rabinovich, president of Tel Aviv University, and former Israeli Ambassador to the United States. Rabinovich was a member of Israeli Prime Minister Barak's delegation in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, as an observer to the negotiations for a cease fire agreement. He talks about the Israeli government view of the agreement.

Robert talks to Washington Post Columnist E.J. Dionne and David Brooks, Senior Editor of the Weekly Standard about what the Republican and Democratic candidates need to accomplish in tonight's debate, with just a few weeks left in the campaign.

Commentator Rawlins Gilliland, a public speaking-consultant and former National Endowment for the Humanities Poet-in-Residence, says other people's music seems to form a soundtrack to his life. It's a constant background din -- as he drives with his top down, talks on his cell phone, stops at a gas station, works out at his gym, visits a park, and finds a birthday party in progress on his own block.