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From West Virginia Public Radio, Jeff Young reports on the murder of a gay black man in the northeastern hill community of Grant Town. The death of 26 year old Arthur "JR" Warren Jr. is still under investigation, and two teenagers from a nearby town have been charged with murder.

Host John Ydstie talks to alternative country musician Jimmie Dale Gilmore about his new album, One Endless Night. The Texas singer/songwriter's been a tough artist to categorize: country music stations are not likely to put him in heavy rotation, but stations with American roots-type shows have been interested in Gilmore's twangy take on several non-country tunes, including Mac the Knife and the Grateful Dead's Ripple.

On the final day of the International AIDS conference in Durban, South Africa, former president Nelson Mandela urged scientists and political leaders to set aside their differences about whether HIV causes AIDS. As NPR's Brenda Wilson reports, Mandela said the dispute was distracting from efforts to help people who have AIDS.

Linda speaks with two people who participated in this year's world conference on AIDS in Durban, South Africa. Geeta Rao Gupta is from the International Center for Research on Women in Washington, DC. Natal Ngubane is a 27-year-old man who works with the Department of Health as well as with The AIDS Foundation in South Africa. He tested positive for HIV in 1996. Among the big issues at this year's conference were the effect of the disease on women, and the lack of available medicine for HIV infected people in developing nations. Geeta Rao Gupta says women in many parts of the word are vulnerable because they lack the power and status to resist unwanted sex with infected partners, or to ask for treatment. Transmission to children through pregnancy is also a big problem. Natal Ngubane is working on a grass roots level -- talking with people one on one about the necessity to practice safe sex and not spread the disease. Both Gupta and Ngubane say the conference provided an important opportunity to hear about scientific progress, and to meet other people struggling to fight the spread of HIV.

The infrastructure bill will set aside billions of dollars to update the electric grid. Experts weigh in on whether or not it will be enough as extreme weather events disrupt access to electricity.

Host John Ydstie talks with Pamela Haag about spawning new interest in technology among women and girls. While the number of technology jobs is skyrocketing, the number of women interested in those jobs is on the decline.

NPR's Richard Harris reports from Bangkok that Thailand is leading the world in testing AIDS vaccines. That's because the nation has a strong scientific tradition, a good medical infrastructure, a willing populace and the political backing to conduct studies involving thousands of volunteers. Many of these ingredients are missing elsewhere in the world, where AIDS vaccines are more desperately needed.

Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan reviews the movie X-Men, which opens nationally in theaters today. Based on the popular Marvel comic book series, the cast includes Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Francis Xavier and Anna Paquin as Rogue. The film is directed by Bryan Singer the man behind the 1995 movie The Usual Suspects.

NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports on the newly signed trade agreement between the United States and Vietnam, which will open the two countries' markets to each other and encourage bilateral trade. It's the first diplomatic agreement signed by the countries since the end of the Vietnam War. Congressional approval of the trade pact is expected.

In the second part of her month-long series on celebrity gardens, NPR's Ketzel Levine visits the home of T. Coragghesen Boyle in Montecito, California. Boyle is the author of eight novels and several short story collections. Levine describes his work as 'dark and quirky,' and says, He's not so much a gardener as a referee among the thousands of plants in his jungle."