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NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that U.S. relations with China appear to be heating up again, just in time for the U.S. presidential election.

Harriet Baskas takes us on visit to the extraordinary rock garden that Milton Walker started in his Seattle back yard back in the 1950s. He worked on it for more than 30 years, and today it's an acknowledged national landmark. This isn't your average backyard rock garden. We're talking about massive concrete walls inlaid with semi-precious stones and glass, minature mountain ranges and lakes, and a twenty foot high tower.

Film critic Bob Mondello reviews "A Midwinter's Tale", Kenneth Branagh's behind-the-scenes farce about an English production of Hamlet.

Alan Cheuse reviews Mario Vargas Lllosa's new book "Death in the Andes". It's a political detective story set in his native country of Peru. (published by Farrar, Straus, Giroux)

We remember band leader and composer MERCER ELLINGTON, the son of Duke Ellington. He perpetuated the big band tradition his father made famous as head of the Duke Ellington Band. When he was a young man, Mercer Ellington had hoped to break into his father's band on the saxophone. But after years of frustration, he could see that he would never crack the legendary Ellington reed section. He finally was accepted as a trombone player and later played french horn and trumpet. With the death of his father in 1974, Mercer Ellington took over his father's orchestra. (REBROADCAST from 5

Times are tough for hospitals in rural areas -- people are moving away, and spending for health care, which these hospitals rely on, is being reduced. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports on how a federal program is helping a small hospital in western Kansas survive.

Today Vladimir Zhirinovsky celebrated his 25th wedding anniversary with a lavish church ceremony in Moscow where he and his wife partook in a traditional Russian Orthodox wedding. Zhirinovsky, Russia's ultra nationalist leader, also used the occasion to kick off his presidential campaign. NPR's Anne Garrels reports.

Yet another study has focused attention on the effects of television violence. NPR's Brooke Gladstone reports that a year-long study funded by the National Cable Television Association finds TV programming awash in mayhem that mostly goes unpunished. Researchers examined entertainment programming on broadcast and cable channels. Sports and newscast were not included in the study.

The massive coastal fortresses that served as slave trading posts during the 16th to the 18th centuries have become the backbone of Ghana's tourism industry. Jennifer Ludden reports that for many African Americans, visiting the forts is a highly emotional experience. Some are coming away from the official tours both angry and disappointed by the seemingly casual attitude shown by their Ghanain guides to a painful chapter of their history.

Rene Preval who formally begins his duties today. Preval takes over from his predecessor, Jean Bertrand Aristide. The peaceful transfer of power was a first for the caribbean nation. But many Haitians wished Arisitide would remain in office.