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From his childhood in Carthage, Tennessee and Washington D.C., Al Gore was raised not just to be a politician but to be a Democratic presidential candidate. Next week in Los Angeles, Al Gore will take the penultimate step toward fulfilling his lifelong goal when he becomes the Democratic Party's nominee for the White House. NPR's Anthony Brooks reports.

Advances in medicine have made it possible for very small pre-term babies to survive. But these infants who survive still face high risks of developing disabilities. A study published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine puts some hard numbers to the rates of pre-term disabilities. This will help doctors and parents understand, at least statistically, what a baby's chances are for normal development. NPR's Allison Aubrey has this report.

Volcanologist and resident geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey DAN MILLER. He also heads the Survey's Volcano Disaster Assistance program which helps developing countries in the event of volcanic eruption. MILLER was part of the team of geologists who studied Mt. St. Helens and predicted a blast before the turn of this last century. Mt. St. Helens blew May 18th, 1980. His team studied the frequency and past characteristics of eruption in Mt. St. Helens and put together hazard assessments for local officials. MILLER and his team are profiled in the new book "Volcano Cowboys: The Rocky Evolution of a Dangerous Science" by Dick Thompson.12:28:30 FORWARD PROMO (:29)12:29:00 I.D. BREAK (:59)12:

Mark Moran of member station KJZZ reports on efforts by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to crackdown on illegal immigrants in the southwestern United States. The smuggling of undocumented immigrants has become a multi-billion industry in the US and the INS hopes to curb the practice through a new initiative called operation denial.

From Maine Public Radio Charlotte Renner reports on recent changes to Maine's campaign finance legislation.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid handed over the daily running of the government to his deputy Megawati Sukarnoputri. Wahid made the change in an effort to appease top legislature who accuses him of failure to lead the country out of years of economic and social crisis.

NPR's Tovia Smith reports on the unique challenges that Joseph Lieberman's strict religious beliefs may present as his campaign for Vice-President kicks into gear.

Janet Heimlich reports form Brownsville, Texas, where a jury decided not to award punitive damages to a Tejano family who sued to regain lost profits from mineral rights discovered on their former land. Last week, the same jury gave the Balli family 1.1 million dollars in compensatory damages; the case is potentially groundbreaking since it could open the door to similar claims by Mexican American families.

Howard Berkes talks with naturalist Craig Childs, author of The Secret Knowledge of Water: The Essence of the American Desert. Childs documented his cross-country trek through the deserts of North America as he searched for water holes, small springs, and other signs of water. His quest took him to a place most experienced desert hikers avoid: directly in the path of a flash flood. (8:20) The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert by Craig Leland Childs is published by Sasquatch Books; ISBN: 15706

NPR's Ted Clark reports thaT Venezuela's nationalistic President Hugo Chavez is set to be the first elected head of state to visit Iraq's Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War. U-S officials are clearly displeased and have sought to pressure him not to visit Baghdad. Chavez, who was just re-elected under a new constitution he helped draw up, is touring OPEC countries to urge a summit and appears to be enjoying showing his independence from US policy.