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Commentator Jim Sollisch says drug company ad campaigns are driving up sales...but confusing consumers.

NPR's Linda Gradstein reports on the latest developments in the Middle East. Israeli helicopter fired rockets at the command centers of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat last night in retaliation for the slayings of two Israelis, presumably by Palestinians.

Veteran broadcaster Robert Trout recalls The Senator Was Indiscreet, a little remembered motion picture that cast a cynical look at the political process. The film talked about the balancing act between the press, public relations and politics. Actor William Powell played an inept senator with presidential ambitions. He had a secret diary that threatened to derail him. The story by George S. Kaufman never caught on with audiences. But Trout says there's a lot of cold-hearted wisdom in this movie comedy that we can still learn from today. It deals with patronage and pride in ways that were meant to be an exaggeration at the time. But after Spiro Agnew, Wayne Hayes, Watergate and the like, the film seems like a celluloid crystal ball.

Kate Seelye reports on how Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories are using the Internet to keep Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and elsewhere up-to-date on the intifada . The project is sponsored by the West Bank's Bir Zeit University. So far, three refugee camps are on-line, and plans are underway to include many more.

NPR's Renee Montagne visits a Hollywood cemetery that's got a new lease on life. Hollywood Forever, a 62-acre memorial park is home to the remains of actors Peter Lorre, Rudolph Valentino, Joan Hackett and others. Once overgrown and run-down, the cemetery is now under the direction of a 30-year old funeral director from Missouri, whose dream is to fully restore it to its previous state of grandeur.

NPR's Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem reports the Israeli parliament reconvened today for the first time since the outbreak of the new Palestinian uprising. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak opened the story session by warning the Palestinians there will be no peace talks as long as the violence continues.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome that tomorrow, Pope John Paul the Second will proclaim Thomas More the patron saint of statesmen and politicians. Thomas More, the Renaissance humanist, jurist, diplomat and author of Utopia, is revered by Christians as a symbol of integrity and conscience. He was beheaded by King Henry the Eighth for refusing to recognize the monarch as England's supreme spiritual leader. The suggestion to make Thomas More the patron saint of politicians came first from former Italian president Francesco Cossiga.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden profiles Marwan Barghouti, one of the chief organizers of the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank. Barghouti says he believes the violence will eventually create better conditions for peace talks with Israel.

NPR's Andy Bowers reports that presidential hopefuls George W. Bush and Al Gore have just one week left to convince voters they're the right man for the job. It's a stressful time for both candidates, but each took time to show they still have a sense of humor after months of campaigning.

The Democrats need only seven seats to recapture control of the House. But they have an uphill fight on their hands to retain the seat of Congressman Michael Forbes of New York. Forbes, who switched to the Democratic party last year, was upset in last month's Democratic primary by a 71-year old political unknown. Republicans, who had vowed revenge against Forbes for his party switch, appear poised to pick up the seat. Beth Fertig of member station WNYC reports from Long Island.