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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.

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.

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."

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.

The Department of Justice is investigating whether baseball's Baltimore Orioles have illegally refused to sign players who defect from Cuba. Senator Jesse Helms claims team owner Peter Angelos instituted the policy to maintain good relations with Fidel Castro. But some baseball insiders say another factor may be at work: Cuban defectors quickly find agents and don't come cheap. NPR's Tom Goldman has the story.

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.

NPR's Brenda Wilson reports from the International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa on advancements in caring for newborn babies infected with HIV.

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 David Welna reports on the 20th anniversary of the Mariel Boatlift, the massive wave of immigration from Cuba to Florida in 1980. Over a five-month period, 125-thousand Cuban refugees left Cuba from the port of Mariel, and traveled to the United States in small boats. Processing the huge influx overwhelmed the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS task was even harder because the refugees included convicted criminals who had been released from prison and mental patients freed from institutions.

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.