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After she was diagnosed as HIV positive in the 1980s, Valerie Reeder Bey went home and told her mother -- and was pushed away. Later, Reeder used her life experiences to educate others. Today, she is a 51-year-old grandmother, AIDS advocate and author. She speaks with NPR's Tony Cox.

Top officials of the 9/11 Commission, Thomas Kean and Lee Hamilton, push Congress to pass an intelligence reform bill. NPR's David Welna reports.

NPR's Madeleine Brand talks to Bob Moon of Marketplace about a decision by Microsoft to require customers to verify they have a valid copy of an operating system before allowing them to download updates from its Web site. Officials for the software giant say the move will boost Internet security -- and it may prompt those using illegal copies of its popular Windows software to buy legitimate copies.

More than 22,000 objects from the rich cultural history of Afghanistan have been found safe in vaults in downtown Kabul, surviving a generation of war and looting.

Allegations of guards beating and terrorizing detainees have emerged from jails Homeland Security uses to hold immigrants awaiting deportation. But legal redress for the alleged victims is unlikely. NPR's Daniel Zwerdling has the second of two reports.

For decades, bandleader Skitch Henderson set the mood for Tonight Show audiences. Liane Hansen talks with the man who has just been honored with the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution for his contributions to American culture.

The Federal Reserve raises a key short-term interest rate another quarter of a point, in an attempt to keep inflation under control as the economy continues to show signs of improvement. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Peter Feaver of Duke University talks about why overall support for the war in Iraq hasn't dwindled, despite much higher casualties than either politicians or the public expected. Feaver says Americans can accept a high human cost for a war if they think the United States will ultimately win. Hear Feaver and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Among the week's stories: poor trial results for a newly approved drug against lung cancer; dioxin poisoning in the Ukraine election; and power wheelchairs get scrutiny.

Iraq's interim prime minister says that war-crimes trials will begin next week for top officials of Saddam Hussein's former regime. Ayad Allawi made the announcement while speaking to Iraq's National Council. He did not say when Saddam Hussein might face trial. Hear NPR's Mike Shuster.

Day to Day producer Christopher Johnson has an appreciation of rap star Russell Jones -- AKA Ol' Dirty Bastard, one of the founders of the Wu-Tang Clan rap collective. Jones died on Saturday of unknown causes in a New York recording studio.

U.S. forces continue to encounter sporadic resistance from insurgents holed up in several parts of the city, and efforts to administer supplies to civilians have been hampered by the appearance of suspected insurgents at aid sites. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

Researchers say the two-drug combination pill known as BiDil successfully reduces deaths among African-American heart failure patients. But the study, recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine, has its fair share of critics. NPR's Tavis Smiley discusses the controversy with regular health commentator Dr. Ian Smith, columnist for Men's Health magazine and The New York Daily News.

Margaret Spellings is chosen to replace Rod Paige as secretary of education. She has been a key adviser to President Bush on education policy since his time as governor of Texas. NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports.

Bill Clinton's presidential library opens in Little Rock, Ark., providing a home for millions of records and a research center for scholars. President Bush and former presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Clinton himself commemorate the opening. Hear NPR's Mara Liasson.

For more than a decade Manhattan bird lovers have watched red-tailed hawks nest, lay eggs and teach fledglings to fly and hunt. But residents of an upscale Fifth Avenue building tore down the nest, angering fans of the birds.

Commentator Gustavo Arellano thinks everybody ought to share in Sunday's celebration of Mexico's patron saint, the Virgen de Guadalupe.

Next week, Deputy Director of Intelligence Jami Miscik will step down. Her departure marks the completion of an almost total overhaul of CIA senior staff since the arrival of new Director Porter Goss.

Workers are preparing New York's Central Park for an ambitious art project. The artists Christo and his wife Jeanne-Claude are planning to install 7,500 gates -- free-hanging colored panels -- along 23 miles of paths. But they will remain up for only 16 days.

With a penchant for constantly reinventing his sound, Andrew Bird is an unusual combination of songwriter, violinist, guitarist, vocalist and professional whistler. On his new CD, The Mysterious Production of Eggs, he plays virtually every instrument.

A federal judge says the U.S. government must provide detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with a fair opportunity to challenge their incarceration. U.S. District Judge Joyce Hens Green says Defense Department hearings do not satisfy last year's Supreme Court ruling on the matter. The ruling is a setback for the government, but the detainees may face a long legal battle before they get what they want.

Jesse Sheidlower, editor the Oxford English Dictionary and a Slate contributing writer, discusses the history of the word "hip." He challenges an assertion made in a new book by author John Leland, Hip: The History, that the word "hip" comes from Africa.

Only 25 percent of the medium and heavy military trucks hauling fuel, supplies, etc. along Iraq's dangerous highways have armor protection. The military is working to remedy this using steel plates, but the weight of the plating can slow down trucks, making them an easier target. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

The Mexican government's inability to stop violent crime has led some citizens to take the law into their own hands. Commentator Antonio Gonzalez joins NPR's Tavis Smiley to talk about how corruption in law enforcement has led to a crisis in the Mexican judicial system.

President Bush praises Mike Leavitt, his nominee to head the HHS, for improving child welfare services during his tenure as governor of Utah. The president's praise for Leavitt's record is not universally shared in Utah, or among some national children's advocates. Hear NPR's Howard Berkes.