Search results for

Daniel Schorr is away. Sarah Fritz of Congressional Quarterly reviews the week's news.

Scott reads letters from listeners.

NPR's Don Gonyea reports from Detroit on the unusual move to honor former Tigers outfielder Willie Horton.

In part two of our look at juvenile facilities in South Dakota, NPR's Madeleine Brand reports that after the death of 14 year old Gina Score, others came forward with charges of abuse. These allegations are the basis for half a dozen lawsuits and 2 federal investigations.

Commentator David Ewing Duncan reflects on his attendance at the thirteenth International AIDS Conference.

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.

We talk about the current state of prescription drugs with DOCTOR Michael Winniford and DOCTOR PETER UBEL (U-bil). Dr. Winniford is a cardiologist, professor of Medicine at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and director of the Universitys Heart Care Center. Dr. Ubel is assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and is also on the faculty of the Universitys Center for Bioethics. The two doctors will talk about the high cost of prescription drugs, and the problems associated with that cost. It is especially hard for the elderly because often, insurance does not cover the costs of all medicines. WINNIFORD AND UBEL will also talk the business of prescription drugs, and the side effects of new drugs and new drug combinations. (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SHOW.) 12:28:30 FORWARD PROMO (:29)12:29:00 I.D. BREAK (:59)12:

NPR's Phillip Martin reports on this week's NAACP National convention in Baltimore. After years of sagging influence, the organization is now returning as a political player. Presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush addressed the convention, as did President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Throughout the meetings, members worked to set the organization's future agenda, which includes a moratorium on the death penalty and establishing coalitions with other civil rights groups.

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.

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.