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A new government review of the federal death penalty shows serious racial and geographical disparities among those on death row for federal offenses. Death penalty experts disagree on whether the review will influence the federal courts, which hear the appeals of those inmates. NPR's Tovia Smith reports.

Linda talks with Scott McGraw, a physical anthropologist, about the extinction of a monkey called Miss Waldron's Red Colobus, whose native habitat is West Africa. The last documented sighting of the red colobus was 20 years ago. McGraw says the monkey was hunted and eaten which is one reason for its decline. Also, there is so little of the West African rain forest left, that there's not enough habitat to support the red colobus. McGraw is an assistant professor of anthropology at Ohio State University. He specializes in West African monkeys.

John Ydstie of NPR News has a report on the differing budget proposals of Democratic Presidential Candidate Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush. Economic prosperity in America has brought a sharp debate over what to do with a projected budget surplus. Gore says his first priority is paying down the national debt. Bush says the surplus should mean tax cuts first.

NPR's Jack Speer reports the Federal Trade Commission has given the auto industry a green light on its plan to set up a massive online marketplace for buying auto parts. DaimlerChrysler, Ford, GM, and Nissan as well as more than a dozen parts suppliers are involved. The FTC had been concerned that such an alliance among competitors could lead to collusion and price signaling, but approved the plan in a unanimous vote.

This Saturday, the nation's first modern paved road will be reopened to the public after nearly fifty years. The Columbia River Highway was built back in 1913 and runs alongside the scenic Columbia. Kristian Foden-Vencil has a report.

While the Arkansas governor's mansion is being renovated, the governor's family will be residing in a triple-wide mobile home on the mansion grounds. Robert talks to Janet Huckabee, First Lady of Arkansas, about her family's new accommodations.

In 1995 Filmmaker Henry Corra gave his autistic son, George, a video camera. Henry used the video his son shot and, along with co-filmmaker Grahame Weinbren, documented the life of his son -- the resulting film is called George, and it airs on HBO tomorrow and Sunday. Linda talks with Grahame Weinbren and Henry and George Corra about the making of the film and how it has affected their lives.

NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports that a U.S. government agency has promised one-billion-dollars a year in loans to help countries in Sub-Saharan Africa buy AIDS treatments from U.S. companies. But AIDS experts say the money represents only a small step toward addressing the huge problem of HIV infection in Africa.

The House of Representatives today approved a bill that would raise the amount that certain savers can contribute to their tax-deferred retirement accounts. The current annual limit on these contributions is $2,000 but the new legislation, if passed by the Senate and signed by President Clinton, would raise that limit to $5,000. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

Linda talks to S.L. Price, senior writer at Sports Illustrated, about Cuban baseball player Andy Morales, who has repeatedly tried to defect from Cuba to the United States. Morales is currently being detained by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, after successfully crossing the Florida Strait to an island off Key West.

Robert talks with Hanoch "Herbie" Smith, an Israeli pollster and analyst in Jerusalem, about public opinion among Israelis about the Camp David talks.

A court in Mitrovica, Kosovo has freed a man whose arrest had been protested by thousands of Serbs. The BBC's Paul Wood has a report on the release of Dalibor Vukovic.

NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports that kids are attending summer schools in record numbers. In St. Louis, about half of all students are enrolled in summer classes. Parents, teachers and police are pleased with the trend. And lots of kids seem to enjoy summer school, too. But the evidence is mixed on whether it improves academic performance.

People who do well on one kind of mental test tend to do well on other tests, as well. This has led scientists to investigate a quality of the mind that's known as "general intelligence." General intelligence is just one aspect of smarts and savvy, but it is the part that gets assessed by tests like IQ tests. Now, researchers report that they have localized general intelligence to one part of the brain. NPR's Richard Harris reports on this contentious finding.

Linda and Robert read letters from All Things Considered listeners. (3:00) To contact All Things Considered, write to All Things Considered Letters, 635 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20001. The e-mail address is atc@npr.org.

Commentator Jeanne Brennan says that it's more important to help students and teachers during the school year so that they don't need summer school to catch up.

The Australian navy will be able to patrol faster and farther with the submarine technology. The rare move comes as the United States looks for ways to counter China.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden in Jerusalem reports Israel has accepted a proposal at the Camp David peace talks to share sovereignty over East Jerusalem with the Palestinians. Palestinian officials say the reported proposal does not go far enough, but some are pleased that the issue of Jerusalem is finally a subject of real negotiations.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports President Clinton joined leaders of the other G-8 developed nations in their annual summit. While economics is the reason for the summit, political issues normally take up much of the meeting. this year was no different and Clinton met with Russian President Vladimir Putin today to discuss the proposed US missile defense system that Russia and almost all other nations at the meeting oppose.

Commentators Katharine Mieszkowski and Kaitlin Quistgaard talk about Virgin Atlantic's announcement that passengers will soon be able to receive phone calls and e-mail in flight, destroying one of the last oases of unconnected time. Fliers won't be able to escape deal-making seatmates and second-hand cell phone noise.