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Kate Seelye in Damascus reports Bashar Al-Assad has, as expected, been chosen as Syria's new president. But his overwhelming victory in yesterday's referendum masks growing discontent in the country.

General Barry McCaffrey testified before a House subcommittee today on his White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's efforts to get its message out through the media. McCaffrey defended past efforts at trading ad time for anti-drug messages in TV show scripts. And though he did not specifically address it in his testimony, in his PRINTED statement he indicated that his office would be exploring ways to collaborate with Hollywood. NPR's Brooke Gladstone reports.

Israeli Prime-Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat have joined President Clinton for peace talks at Camp David outside Washington DC. The two leaders left sharply divided public opinion at home -- Prime Minister Barak narrowly survived a no-confidence vote in the Parliament yesterday -- to attempt to make progress in their negotiations, which have been stalled for some time. Linda talks with NPR's Ted Clark who is at the media center near Camp David.

Linda talks to Samuel Lewis, Senior Policy Advisor to the Israel Policy Forum, about the peace talks at Camp David between Israel and the Palestinians. They compare today's talks with talks between Israel and Egypt at Camp David in 1979. Lewis was US Ambassador to Israel 1977-1985 and Policy Planning Staff Director for the State Department, 1993-1994.

NPR's Richard Knox reports from the 13th International AIDS conference in South Africa, on a new strategy for treating AIDS. Doctors at the National Institutes of Health reported in Durban, South Africa, that they have had success with an on-and-off regimen of AIDS drugs. Patients could safely stop the drugs for a month or two, then start them again. But many warn patients not to try this until studies had proved that it is not dangerous.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that the owner of a clothing store on Malta today provided valuable testimony for the prosecution in the trial of two Libyan men accused of blowing up Pam Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The shop owner identified one of the Libyan suspects as the man who bought clothing in his store about two weeks before the passenger jet blew up in midair on December 21st, 1988. The clothing has been linked to the suitcase that contained the bomb. 270 people were killed in the explosion.

Noah talks with Tom Debaggio, an herb grower and writer with early onset Alzheimer's. His wife Joyce and son Francesco also participate. This is the third conversation Noah has had with Tom.

Although overall HIV infection rates in the U.S. are relatively low, there are disturbing pockets of infection among some parts of the population. NPR's Jon Hamilton reports that In response, health officials have designed prevention programs especially for groups at high risk.

A new courthouse scheduled to open this week in Las Vegas is the first building to incorporate new architectural guidelines adopted after the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City in 1995. Noah talks to Mehrdad Yazdani, Director of Design at Dworsky Asscociates in Los Angeles, California, about the building.

NPR's Aaron Schachter reports from Los Angeles where police officers are gearing up for protestors at next month's Democratic National Convention. Police staged a mock street demonstration yesterday and invited the press. Skeptics say the scripted event was designed to boost the reputation of the beleaguered LAPD.