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Host Howard Berkes talks to NPR's Julie McCarthy about today's court hearing in Warsaw on whether Lech Walesa (LEKH wah-WEN-suh), former President of Poland worked for communist-era secret police.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on today's opening of the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. Several tense confrontations erupted between police and smaller groups of protesters but they were negotiated with no arrests.

NPR's Richard Knox reports that snakebite antidote supplies are running very low this summer. In many areas, doctors have run out of the crucial medicine before patients have completed treatment. So far, no deaths are blamed on the shortage, but antivenom experts say it's only a matter of time. The shortfall arose when the manufacturer of the main antidote cut back production.

Megan Williams of Youth Radio reports that while more and more young people are volunteering and taking part in public service -- many do not see voting as the best way to express their beliefs or influence others. The same kids out on the street making the voices heard, will not necessarily show up in the voting booth.

Host Howard Berkes talks to NPR's Anthony Brooks about Democratic candidate Vice President Al Gore decision on his running mate. Sources say it will be Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman. Gore hopes to try to break free from President Clinton's shadow in order to narrow the gap between Gore and Republican nominee George W. Bush.

In the second part of her Mafia series, NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports on a civic campaign to rebuild the old city of Palermo, capital of the Italian island of Sicily. Palermo is a living museum, with architectural styles ranging from the ancient to art nouveau. But under the influence of corrupt politicians and their friends in the Mafia, it fell into ruin. Citizens have now begun to take back their city from the mob, restoring its architectural treasures. (8:00) Music after story was "Costumi Siciliani" from the CD "Italian String Virtuosi", copyright 1995, Rounder Records.

Russia produced some of the world's great theoretical physicists, and some have made their home in Minnesota. 'Moscow on the Mississippi', they call it. NPR's David Kestenbaum looks at why physics bloomed in the Soviet Union -- and how things have changed for the scientists who came west.

The Republican National Committee has decided not to air an ad attacking the credibility of Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee. The ad was apparently controversial within the party headquarters, and today the GOP's own nominee, Texas Governor George W. Bush said he approved of the decision to reject it. The episode was sure to renew debate over the relationship between the committee and the campaign, which, under campaign laws, are required to act independently. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

Linda talks to Carl Newton, a retired Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear scientist, who is also a friend and neighbor of Wen Ho Lee. Newton helped organize a homecoming party for Lee.

NPR's Phillip Martin reports on the National Urban League's annual assessment of African American progress. The "State of Black America" report shows home ownership at record highs, unemployment at all-time lows and surging college enrollment, especially among black women. But a disproportionate number of African American children live in poverty, more black men are imprisoned, and more black people die of AIDS, cancer and other diseases. Conversely, the reports says the black middle class continues to grow and the educated young experience fewer barriers than earlier generations.