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NPR's Mary Kay Magistad tells Linda that China's top leaders have returned to Beijing unexpectedly from trips to other parts of the country, possibly in response to UNconfirmed news about the health of 92-year-old Deng Xiaoping (duhng shee-yow PEENG). The patriarch of the Chinese leadership is 92 years old and has been in frail health for some years.

The White House announced today that two National Security Council aides were informed by the FBI last summer that China might try to make illegal campaIGN contributions to Congressional races. The aides also were told not to pass the information on to their superiors in the Clinton administration. President Clinton says top-level White House and National Security officials will investigate. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports George W. Bush says he's making education his top priority when he takes office. He has an advantage. Congress just approved the single largest increase in educational funds. Now, Bush's plan is to give states a block sum in the form of grants and each state can deem best how to use it.

Later this year, a group of women from across North America will attempt to ski to the North Pole. If successful, they'll become the first women to reach the top of the world without the use of dog sleds or ships. Nicole Walton of member station WNMU talks with the members of the expedition as they prepare for their journey.

A top U.S. envoy today held out the prospect of energy and other forms of assistance for North Korea if Pyongyang abandons nuclear weapons development. The Bush Administration says it will not reward North Korea's threatening behavior. But analysts say Washington could help Pyongyang in indirect ways to resolve the current stand-off. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

The top two Democrats in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, unveil what they called a "pre-buttal" in advance of President Bush's State of the Union address, which will be given Wednesday evening.

Are female columnists being shoved to the margins of the nation's top newspaper editorial pages? Slate legal analyst Dahlia Lithwick talks with NPR's Alex Chadwick about the growing debate over gender representation in newspaper opinion sections.

As Robert Iger prepares to take over the top position at Walt Disney Co., he must step out of the shadow cast by current chief Michael Eisner. Eisner is scheduled to step down in the fall after a period of transition.

Hurricane Ivan moves inland along the Gulf Coast, spawning tornadoes, causing flooding and tearing beach houses from their foundations. Its top winds have dropped to 80 mph, but the storm remains dangerous. Hear NPR's Jon Hamilton.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle becomes the first Senate leader in half a century to lose a bid for re-election. Republicans had made the Democrat's defeat one of their top priorities and threw powerful support behind the challenger, John Thune. Hear NPR's David Welna.