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NPR's Julie Rovner reports on what voters are hearing -- and not hearing -- from Democrats and Republicans about their effort to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. Neither party plans come close to lifting the financial burden felt by Medicare recipients with high drug costs because a real solution would cost a fortune.

Host Howard Berkes talks with Sandy Tolan, author of Me & Hank: A Boy and His Hero, Twenty-five Years Later. Hank Aaron eclipsed Babe Ruth's career homerun record of 714 by 41, but Tolen says Aaron doesn't get the attention he deserves, particularly in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Critics point out that Aaron played in more games and didn't have Ruth's style, but Tolan suspects Aaron's outspokeness about race has affected his popularity. (5:46) Me and Hank: A Boy and His Hero, Twenty-Five Years Later by Sandy Tolan is published by Free Press; ISBN: 06848

NPR's Steve Krueger reports on an outdoor equipment company that hopes to capture the international market through its rapidly growing online store.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports from Mexico City on a series of problems facing the country. In addition to the rapid depletion of forests and marine habitat, Mexico is dealing with a severe water shortage.

Next week's Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles has the Los Angeles Police Department worried about Seattle-style protests. NPR's Aaron Schachter reports that LA police are warning downtown businesses of possible violence; demonstrators are trying to assure merchants they don't intend to be unruly.

Host Howard Berkes shares letters from listeners.

From member station WXXI in Rochester, New York Brenda Tremblay reports on a new biography about Martha Matilda Harper, one of the most successful and innovative female entrepreneurs of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She is credited with inventing the concept of the Franchise. (3:09) Martha Matilda Harper and the American Dream : How One Woman Changed the Face of Modern Business (Writing American Women by Jane R. Plitt is published by Syracuse Univ Pr (Trade); ISBN: 08156

Ten years ago this month Iraqi forces invaded Kuwait, leading ultimately to the Persian Gulf War. Jacki speaks to Middle East scholar Shibley Telhami about the legacy of the invasion, and the impact sanctions and a strengthened Saddam Hussein have on the people of Iraq.

Commentator Reynolds Price muses on the reasons why the vivid ease and eloquence of letter writing has all but died out. He bemoans the loss of an irreplaceable source of history, expression and human encounter. He cites the lasting gift of a vivid letter from his grade school teacher about her first migraine.

Up to 40 percent of inmates in US prisons are infected with Hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can cause fatal liver disease. Because treatment is expensive and often does not work, most prison systems are choosing to do little or nothing about the problem. Christine Arrasmith from member station KPLU in Seattle reports.