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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.

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.

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."

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.

Host John Ydstie talks to Hanan Ashrawi , spokeswoman for the Palestinian Authority about Palestinian bargaining positions at the Camp David Summit. She says Chairman Arafat places particular importance on the status of Palestinian refugees and on the future of Jerusalem.

NPR's Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that, when it comes to taking action, state governments, rather than the federal government, are being much more decisive. Shorr says that Washington seems almost paralyzed, at this point, by special interests and lobbying money.

Liane talks with Charles Pelkey of Velo News, who has been covering the Tour de France bike race. With one week left, American Lance Armstrong appears to be on track for his second consecutive victory. Armstrong overcame cancer to win the grueling event last year; this year, his strong riding through the mountains has given him a solid lead.

Nancy Marshall reports on the long-running dispute over how and whether slavery should be represented at Civil War battlefield sites. Congress recently passed an Act requiring that exhibits on slavery be placed at all Civil War battlefield visitor centers.

As the captains of geekdom battle over wireless standards, Weekend Edition Information Age Specialist Rich Dean says cell phones and handheld gadgets just aren't ready for prime time on the Web.

Hard-line Israeli conservatives rallied in Tel Aviv today in the largest demonstration in Israeli history. They want to oppose any concessions by Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the Camp David Peace Talks. NPR's Linda Gradstein reports, that's the opposition is not necessarily the majority sentiment in Israel.