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The end of the cold war could mean colder -- but shorter -- routes for international air traffic, as Arctic air space could be opened to passenger planes. Russia and Canada have been evaluating possible northern flight routes. Linda talks to Sidney Koslowe, Vice President of Engineering for NAV Canada, who is attending a Transportation Symposium meeting in Washington.

NPR's John Ydstie reports that two Americans will share the Nobel Prize for Economics. James Heckman of the University of Chicago and Daniel McFadden of the University of California at Berkeley were cited for their work in microeconometrics, which combines economics and statistics. Heckman designed new methods for evaluating the effectiveness of various social programs from affirmative action to job training. McFadden was credited with developing statistical methods that transformed empirical research.

NPR's Pat Dowell profiles actress Ellen Burstyn, who's getting favorable reviews for her new television program, "That's Life," and her new movie, "Requiem for a Dream." Burstyn appears in another new movie, "The Yards," which opens tomorrow in New York and Los Angeles. She has several more projects in the works.

The host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, Scott Simon. He's written a new memoir, Home & Away: Memoir of a Fan (Hyperion).

We remember dancer Gwen Verdon. She died today at the age of 75. She became an overnight Broadway sensation in 1953 as a dancer in Can Can, for which she won her first Tony Award. Later she created her most memorable roles in Bob Fosses Damn Yankees as the seductress Lola, Sweet Charity as the taxi dancer Charity, and Chicago as the chorus girl Roxie. Verdon was also Fosses third wife. (ORIGINAL BROADCAST from 5

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports on changes in U.S. trade policy toward Cuba. Last night, the Senate gave final approval to a bill that modestly eases the trade embargo on Cuba. It will allow sales of food to Cuba for the first time in four decades, but bars the federal government or U.S. banks from financing shipments.

NPR's Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg reports on the opening of Madame Tussaud's in New York. The famed British wax museum will feature replicas of some real New York types, including Woody Allen, Joe DiMaggio, Donald Trump, and Rudy Giuliani. But it will also have figures that have long attracted attention in its London home, such as Napoleon and Princess Diana. (

NPR's Don Gonyea reports on efforts by Republican presidential candidate Governor George W. Bush to appeal to women, by sending his wife Laura and mother Barbara out on a bus tour of swing states (3:30).

NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports on the AARP's new identity. The American Association of Retired Persons is trying to realign its image with that of the aging baby boomers. Suddenly, post 50 is looking more active and more engaged with the world. But some members worry that the AARP is ignoring older retirees whose lifestyles and attitudes don't necessarily fit with those of the boomers. (

Commentator Kevin Phillips talks about the connection between oil, technology, and wealth in the United States.