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NPR's Brenda Wilson reports from Durban, South Africa, where the 13th International AIDS Conference opened today. In his opening address South African President Thabo Mbeki defended his government's controversial AIDS policies and said that poverty in Africa calls for different solutions to the epidemic.

Well??? Across America this weekend, hundreds of thousands of kids and many of their parents ignored television and sports, and instead read a book. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth in the children's series, went on sale Saturday to much hype. Jacki gets a review of the latest installment from Max Landerman, age 9, of Washington.

In the first of a four part series, NPR's Mike Shuster reports on the debate in Congress over whether the proposed national missile defense system is realistic. The 60-billion-dollar system is designed to intercept a missile aimed at the United States, but as a test failure over the weekend showed, it's far from reliable.

Scott Horsley of member station KPBS reports on an attempt to make fast food even faster. Companies such as McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy's are turning to technology to increase the efficiency of their drive-thru windows, which now account for two-thirds of their business.

NPR's Linda Gradstein reports that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak faces a potential collapse of his government on the eve of a peace summit sponsored by the United States. Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat are expected to meet tomorrow at Camp David to try and seal a final peace treaty.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on the race for a Senate seat in Rhode Island. Following the death last year of longtime Republican Senator John Chafee, Democrats hoped to pick up a seat in this largely-Democratic state. But now Chafee's son, Lincoln Chafee, who is filling out his father's term, appears to be a strong candidate to win it himself.

Liane reads letters from listeners, and calls on an expert to clarify a question about last week's story on Cole Porter's classic song, Night and Day.

Liane Hansen speaks with percussionist Eddie Bobe. His new cd, Central Park Rumba (Piranha Musik CD-PIR1365) takes its inspiration from the spontaneous Sunday afternoon rumba sessions that have taken place there for years.

In this country, health officials are concerned about a spike in the levels of HIV infection in San Francisco, a city that serves as a bellweather for AIDS in the U.S. Last year, the rate of new infections doubled, to 900 people, and while that's still much smaller than during the 1980s, epidemiologists fear a younger generation may not take the threat of AIDS as seriously. Sabin Russell of the San Francisco Chronicle talks to Jacki about the changes researchers are noticing in behavior and attitudes toward AIDS.

The death of a young black man in southern Mississippi has police and community trying to determine if the teen took his own life, or was lynched. 17-year-old Raynard Johnson was found hanging from a tree in his family's front yard last month. But two autopsies showed no signs of struggle or harm prior to his death. Jacki talks to John DeSantis of the Biloxi Sun Herald about why authorities believe it was a suicide, and why many in the community think investigators haven't taken the case seriously enough.

Police in Kentucky are reluctantly preparing to auction off all firearms they've confiscated, in accordance with a new law that goes into effect this week. Proceeds from the sales will be used to buy bullet-proof vests for police officers. Many police believe guns used in crimes should be destroyed, not recirculated. NPR's Adam Hochberg reports.

NPR's White House Correspondent Mara Liasson reports that a defining issue for voters is leadership. In two different polls, researchers found that voters rated George W. Bush as having stronger leadership qualities than Vice President Gore.