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Military leaders in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, have been holding direct talks with democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi (ahng sahn soo chee). In 1990, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won elections overwhelmingly, but the military government wouldn't allow the party to govern, and has kept Suu Kyi under house arrest. Noah talks with Bertil Lintner, Correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review, and author of Burma in Revolt: Opium and Insurgency Since 1948. Lintner says these talks are not unprecedented, and that they are usually for show for the outside world. Suu Kyi remains under house arrest and her travel restrictions have not been loosened at all. (4:30)Burma in Revolt: Opium and Insurgency Since 1948, by Bertil Lintner is published by Silkworm books, 2000.

NPR's Guy Raz reports from Pristina on the reaction of NATO-led peacekeepers and the United Nations administration in Kosovo to reports that peacekeepers in the Balkans have become ill, because of contact with depleted uranium weapons. Spokespeople for the peacekeepers and U.N. say that until now, troops have not roped off sites where the weapons were used. They note a lack of resources and say there is still no proof that residue from the depleted uranium weapons poses a health risk. Kosovar Albanians are skeptical of the reports about high cancer rates among peacekeepers, suggesting the claims are intended to undermine international support for the Kosovo peacekeeping operation.

NPR's David Welna reports on how well President-elect Bush's nominee for Education Secretary did on his first big test today. At his Senate confirmation hearing, Rod Paige got high marks from Senators in both parties. He called for more testing for students and teachers, and stuck by his support for Bush's voucher plan.

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Adrian Ma of the The Indicator from Planet Money podcast about the "billionaire tax" being proposed by Democrats to help fund the Build Back Better legislation.

Robert talks with David Stempler of AirTrav Advisors about the corporate differences between airlines. With the exception of airlines such as Southwest, the flying experience for the customer has pretty much been the same across the board, and that airline customers probably won't notice much difference when they fly, he says.

NPR's Rob Gifford reports that China today announced the launch of an unmanned rocket it hopes eventually will carry astronauts into space. Currently, only Russia and the U.S. are capable of manned space flight. China says three or four more test flights will be needed before it attempts a manned flight. The Long March rocket blasted off from a launch center in the Gobi Desert and Chinese officials say it will be used to conduct experiments on the effects of space on life forms.

NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports on the public debut of the National Zoo's new pandas. The pandas arrived from China on December sixth, but their keepers gave the animals a few weeks to get used to their new surroundings before opening the exhibit to the public. The National Zoo paid China ten million dollars for a ten year loan of the pandas.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that the Chavez implosion is another example of a cover-up gone awry.

A note on some of the milestones in the history of Trans World Airlines.

California and federal officials met until late last night in Washington in hopes of solving the state's bedeviling electricity crisis. California Governor Gray Davis has proposed a variety of tactics to deal with the double threat of potential blackouts and high prices. But one town isn't waiting for the bigwigs to act. West Hollywood is looking for a cheaper and better way of keeping the lights on. NPR's Ina Jaffe has the story.