Preview -- World News Tonight 08/21/01

Aug. 21 -- Peter Jennings is on the road. Elizabeth Vargas anchors the broadcast tonight and World News Tonight senior producer Fiona Conway has our preview.

Good afternoon.

"The biggest thing is getting used to not having a heartbeat … I have a whirring sound." That was Robert Tools' description of his artificial heart. The 59-year-old recipient of the world's first self-contained artificial heart made his first public appearance today since undergoing the surgery. Tools may have been short on breath, but he wasn't short on wit. Our medical correspondent John McKenzie, will report on Mr. Tools' new heart.

The Federal Reserve has cut the short-term interest rate once again, that's the seventh cut this year. The quarter-point reduction puts the federal funds rate at 3.50 percent. It's the most aggressive rate cutting in nearly 20 years. John Yang will examine the Fed's moves and its true effect on the economy.

We learned today that Sen. Jesse Helms is expected to announce his retirement tomorrow. It is an announcement that will truly change the face of American politics. Helms, of North Carolina, has been a lightening rod in the Senate over his five terms. He is one of the country's foremost conservative leaders. Claire Shipman will report.

NASCAR released its report on the Dale Earnhardt crash today. The report makes official what most already knew: Dale Earnhardt died from forces that snapped his head violently forward as his car smashed to a stop at the Daytona raceway wall. Erin Hayes reports on NASCAR's recommendations to make stockcar racing less deadly.

And in the second installment of our "Dying to be Thin" series, Deborah Amos exposes some disturbing Web sites that promote anorexia nervosa, a deadly psychiatric disorder that one in 10 sufferers dies from. These Web sites offer tips on starvation diets and purges. Internet provider Yahoo! has taken these Web sites down, but the women who made them say they're determined to keep them up.

Hope you'll join us.