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NPR's Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg reports the Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments today on the use of drug checkpoints. At issue is whether it is legal for police to randomly stop drivers and use dogs to check for illegal drugs. Opponents of the tactic say it amounts to illegal search and violates the 4th Amendment.

Commentator Joe Davidson says little has been said by George W. Bush or Al Gore about foreign assistance to Africa. He says African economic development is more important to the U.S. than most Americans believe.

Ohio has picked the winner in every presidential election since 1964. Like those across much of the Midwest this year, Ohio voters are up grabs this years and are being courted heavily by both Democrat Al Gore and Republican George Bush. NPR's Don Gonyea traveled to the Buckeye state to take the pulse of the campaign there.

NPR's Anthony Brooks reports on what both Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush need to do in their debate tonight. With polls showing the two presidential candidates running in a dead heat, and indications that the broadcast might reach an audience of 75-million Americans, what happens tonight could go a long way in determining who will be the 43rd president of the United States.

Commentator Mark Hertsgaard says the Commission on Presidential Debates makes it nearly impossible for any candidate -- except those from the Democratic and Republican parties -- to participate. He says the debates are essential to any candidacy, and exclusionary rules help the two big parties retain their monopoly over the political system.

Writer Armistead Maupin, creator of the award winning newspaper serial turned TV series Tales of the City. Maupin's new book The Night Listener (Harper Collins, 2000) is his first novel in eight years. It examines the relationship that grows between a cult writer and one of his younger radio fans; critics have noted the autobiographical subtext to the story. Maupin won the 1998 Peabody Award for his work in television and has written several novels and two collections of essays. He lives in San Francisco.

NPR's Guy Raz reports Germany is marks ten years since reunification today. Most observers agree the benefits for the formerly communist East outweigh the drawbacks. There's much talk of high unemployment in the East. But residents of former East Germany are enjoying higher standards of living. German and foreign leaders alike hailed the achievements of reunification at a ceremony in Dresden today. The architect of German unity, ex-chancellor Helmut Kohl, was notably absent from today's festivities. His reputation has been tainted by a political funding scandal.

Writer Daniel Asa Rose tells the story of a chance meeting late one night in a bar in on Nantucket. The man sitting next to him turned out to share his birthday, his birthplace and even the same maternity ward. Though they had spent lives traveling in completely different directions, they were once again breathing the same air, nearly five decades later.

Today is the tenth anniversary of German reunification. The BBC's Horsley reports from the anniversary celebration. (2:52-3:01) More information about German reunification can be found on on www.germany-info.org

Book critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the novel When We Were Orphans(Knopf) by Kazu Ishiguro.