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All Things Considered offers a work song for temporary workers that might need an outlet for their pain at having an insecure status in the workforce.

NPR's John Burnett reports from the Mexico border, where, over the last six years, the United States has substantially increased efforts to stop illegal aliens from entering. Burnett accompanies some Border Agents on their rounds, and talks to some of the Patrol's critics. Ranchers in Arizona and Texas are among those who say the thousands of new agents and new technology have done little to stem the flow of illegals.

Nearly a third of the American workforce works a temporary or part-time job, or hires on as an independent contractor. For many workers, these arrangements provide the flexibility and freedom they never had in traditional jobs. But many "free agents" struggle to obtain benefits and professional stability. As David Molpus reports, a new study finds that organizations are emerging to help workers cope with the change, but there are still lots of bumps in the system.

NPR's Tovia Smith reports on a California court ruling that an anonymous sperm donor must come forward to testify in a case involving the sperm bank and the parents of a child who now suffers from a genetic kidney disorder.

The California Supreme Court has ruled that anonymous sperm donors do not have an unlimited right to privacy. Robert talks to Ruth Colker, Law Professor at Ohio State University.

French law had set a Sept. 15 deadline for the country's 2.7 million health care workers to get vaccinated. The ones who didn't get a jab were suspended, the country's health minister says.

The Elements - Satirist Tom Lehrer's recitation of all the names of the chemical elements to the tune of I am a Very Model of a Modern Major General. (1:00) The song The Elements is from the CD The Remains of Tom Lehrer, on Rhino Records, www.Rhino.com.

Jackie Northam of Chicago Public Radio reports that more than two weeks after Firestone began recalling millions of its tires, there's now a desperate scramble for replacements. Fingers of blame are pointing in many directions. Federal investigators say 62 people have died in car accidents that may have been caused by peeling tire treads.

On the campaign trail yesterday, Presidential nominees George W. Bush and Al Gore criticized each other's tax cut proposals. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on Bush's comments; NPR's Madeleine Brand reports on Gore's.

Richard Harris reports that scientists in Finland have succeeded in making a chemical compound out of one of the few elements on earth considered to be completely inert -- argon. Argon is a gas that makes up 1 percent of our atmosphere. Until now, argon atoms have been complete loners. In today's issue of Nature, chemists reveal a method to make chemical bonds between argon and other atoms.