ALL THINGS CONSIDERED

Vivendi - Seagram -- NPR's Jim Zarroli reports the French conglomerate Vivendi will acquire the Seagram Company in a stock deal valued at about 34-billion-dollars. The new company will be known as Vivendi Universal. It will be headquartered in Paris. Seagram used to be a distilled spirits company, but it has evolved into a high profile media company. It owns most of Universal Music Group and Universal Studios, as well as a number of other media properties. The new company would be the world's second largest media group behind the combined AOL-Time Warner. (3:45)

Universal -- Noah talks with Bruce Orwall, a staff reporter of the Wall Street Journal in Los Angeles, California, about the Vivendi-Seagram deal, which involves the sale of Universal. (4:00)

Tobacco Lawsuit -- NPR's Barbara Bradley reports on efforts by Congressional Republicans to block funding for the Justice Department's civil suit against the tobacco industry. The House has voted for an amendment to a spending bill that would stop Justice from using money from the Veterans Affairs budget to pay for the suit. The department's plan is to use funds from several departments and to share any damages awarded in court with those departments. The House-passed amendment has to clear many more hurdles to become law, and President Clinton has threatened a veto. (4:15)

Shas Pullout -- NPR's Linda Gradstein reports from Israel that four Shahs Party cabinet ministers have submitted letters of resignation, effective on Thursday. The departure of Shahs from Barak's coalition government would destroy the Prime Minister's parliamentary majority at a critical point in Middle East peace efforts. Barak has made several concessions over the past few days, trying to keep the ultra-Orthodox religious party in his coalition government. (3:45)

France - Presidency -- NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Paris that the French National Assembly today passed a bill to cut the presidential term from seven years to five. This is the first hurdle to clear to change the French constitution. Although politicians voted overwhelmingly in favor of the change, polls show the French public to be apathetic on the matter. (4:00)

California - Mental Illness -- California legislators are considering a bill which would make it easier to force treatment on the severely mentally ill. From Capital Public Radio in Sacramento, Suzanne Marmion reports on the arguments both for and against such treatment. (5:30)

Damp Northeast -- Steve Young reports this has turned out to be one of the wettest springs on record in parts of the Northeast. In Vermont, farmers are a month behind in planting their corn. Some have resorted to cutting their hay in the rain. The weather could mean even tougher financial times for farmers who are already struggling. (3:30)

Black Bear Attack -- Noah talks with Bob Miller, a biologist and U.S. Park Ranger, and spokesman for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, about the autopsy report on a woman who was killed by black bears. The ferocity of this attack is highly unusual. (4:00)

RTmark -- RTmark is an anonymous collective of media provocateurs who have pulled some of the best-known cultural pranks of the past five years. Among their practical jokes: swapping the voiceboxes of talking Barbie and GI Joe dolls at a New York Toys-R-Us, and launching satirical "Giuliani for Senate" and "GATT" Websites. They've also emerged as effective defenders of artists against commercial interests on the Web. Now their work has been included in the Whitney Biennial. NPR's Rick Karr reports. (7:45)

Missile Defense -- The top Pentagon officers and scientists in charge of developing a defense system against incoming missiles said today the next phase of testing was far from certain to succeed. They also said they did not know whether the system could be ready for deployment five years from now as planned. Nonetheless, the officials said, the program was on track and ought to be continued. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports from the Pentagon. (3:45)

Missile Defense -- Linda talks to Richard Perle, a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, about whether the U.S. should build an anti-ballistic missile defense system. Perle was Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy from 1981 to 1987. (5:15)

Waco Trial -- NPR's Wade Goodwyn reports on the opening of the wrongful death trial over the federal government's actions against the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. In opening statements, lawyers for the Branch Davidians said their case against the government wasn't a defense of David Koresh, the group's leader. The government countered that the case was *indeed* about Koresh, whose powerful hold over his followers may have led them to their deaths. (3:00)

Death Penalty -- From Austin, Janet Heimlich reports that one of the longest and most contentious capitol murder cases in Texas could soon be coming to an end. Gary Graham is scheduled to be executed on Thursday despite serious questions about his guilt. Graham was convicted of murder in 1981 on the strength of testimony from one eye-witness. No other evidence linked Graham to the crime, and testimony from other witnesses who said someone else did it was never introduced at his trial. Since then, efforts to get this evidence considered has run afoul of numerous procedural roadblocks. Graham has garnered much public support and the case has become the latest criminal justice problem for GOP presidential candidate and Texas Governor, George W. Bush. (7:30)

Gore - Retirement Plan -- Vice President Al Gore spoke to a crowd of Lexington, Kentucky Democrats today on his Progress and Prosperity tour. Gore outlined a new plan designed to help income Americans save for retirement. Gore says his plan -- unlike that of his Republican rival George W. Bush -- will help middle income workers. But the Bush campaign says Gore lifted the idea right out of their playbook. NPR's Anthony Brooks reports. (5:30)

Hate Crimes -- NPR's Brian Naylor reports the Senate is voting today on whether to make more offenses federal hate crimes. Federal law already covers crimes motivated by hate based on race, ethnicity or religion. Today's amendment would expand the law to cover hate crimes based on the victim's sexual orientation, gender or disability. Opponents of expanding the definition of hate crimes say violent assaults are already illegal, and giving extra protection to certain groups is unconstitutional. (3:30)

School Prayer Fallout -- Commentator Joe Loconte (3:30)

Gilbert And Sullivan Score -- A portion of the score from Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta Iolanthe has been found. Professor Bruce Miller of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts found the music. He talks to Linda about his discovery. (4:30)

Hula Hoop -- Reina Gonzales of Youth Radio, in Berkeley, California, says a new kind of hula hoop, called the Wave Hoop, is proving popular with Generation Y, as well as those who remember the Hula Hoops heyday. (3:00)