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A new blood test that checks for a certain protein proves just as good at predicting the risk of a heart attack as conventional cholesterol tests, according to a new study. The results leave heart experts at odds over whether the test should become a part of routine checkups. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

Pub-goers in London cheer Queen Elizabeth II's announcement that Parliament will soon consider allowing pubs to stay open 24 hours. Currently, pubs must close at 11 p.m. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with London pub manager Charlotte Renick. (This story was corrected on air on Nov. 14, 2002: "It's Thursday, the day we read from your letters, and we start with a correction to yesterday's program. I said that Britain's pubs have closed early, ever since World War II. Our thanks to Charles Day in Bozeman, Montana, Marc James Small in Roanoke, Virginia and Peg Willingham in Arlington, Virginia. All pointed out that closing the pubs early was a World War I innovation, part of the Defence of the Realm Act. Mr. Day notes that the law was "affectionately known to the British' by its acronym 'DORA.' The logic of the pub closings was, he writes, 'to keep factory production levels high. Factory workers, particularly the ammunition factory workers, would be home from the pubs at a reasonable hour so that they would show up well rested on the factory floor the next morning.'"

U.S. Rep. John Thune (R-SD) will not contest his narrow loss in a bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson. Thune says a recount would be "painful for the state." The margin of Johnson's victory was just over 500 votes. Curt Nickisch of South Dakota Public Radio reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears cases from Alaska and Connecticut as it reviews statutes based on "Megan's Law." Justices are considering whether alerting communities to a convicted sex offender's whereabouts is constitutional. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

Host Bob Edwards talks to Commentator John Feinstein about the tip-off of the college basketball season, which begins tonight. John makes his annual prognostications about the top teams and tells his yearly "feel-good" human interest story about a college athlete.

The frontier is long gone, but the American West clings to some of its roots. Morning Edition presents a series of profiles of people who are inspired by the region's landscape, resources and culture. The series continues with one of the Northwest's premier chefs, Christine Keff of Seattle. NPR Online offers one of her special recipes.

America's Catholic Bishops overwhelmingly approve new rules for handling cases involving the sexual abuse of minors. The policy was crafted at the Vatican, and is expected to receive quick approval from the pope. NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports.

Commentator Ruben Navarrette is a Texan who says his state's African-American and Hispanic politicians should pay less attention to wooing white voters, and more attention to demographics that predict a Hispanic majority in coming years.

The Federal Communications Commission clears the way for the creation of the nation's largest cable TV company. The marriage of Comcast and AT&T's broadband unit will have 27 million subscribers and control roughly 40 percent of the cable market. NPR's Jack Speer reports.

Robert Siegel remembers his cameo voice role on the TV show Northern Exposure in 1995. He played himself introducing actress Margaret "Peg" Phillips as a commentator on All Things Considered. Phillips, who won fame as the shopkeeper Ruth-Anne Miller in the television series, died Thursday of lung disease. She was 84.