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Host Bob Edwards talks to Wayne Slater of the Dallas Morning News. The Texas House of Representatives approved a bill that will strengthen penalties for hate crimes.

A tornado touched down in Hoisington, Kansas over the weekend, damaging hundreds of buildings. Linda Wertheimer talks with Gloria Adams, a resident of the town who huddled with four people in the walk-in freezer of the Dairy Queen to survive the tornado. All of the building was destroyed, except for the freezer.

NPR's Nina Totenberg has the first of two reports on what to expect when the Senate begins considering President Bush's nominees to the federal bench. Many of the vacancies exist because the Republican-controlled Senate refused to confirm judges nominated by President Clinton. So there is understandable resentment among Democratic Senators, who say they'll apply the same standards and tactics used for the last few years by their Republican colleagues. The Senate Judiciary Committee today meets behind closed doors to discuss ground rules for considering Bush nominees. The meeting is expected to be acrimonious.

Blending into a new city can be a difficult thing in any country, and foreigners living abroad often need to find ways to decompress. Commentator Shai Oster describes the almost religious experience of the morning commute in Beijing.

NPR's Howard Berkes reports on the advertising campaign that's bringing Smokey Bear into the new millennium. The public service announcements alter the bear's famous warning about "forest fire" prevention, to one concerning "wildfires," in order to emphasize that deserts and grasslands are also prone to destructive fires.

NPR's Patricia Neighmond reports on the marketing of Serafem, a drug for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder. Serafem is the same thing as Prozac. The manufacturer changed the name and the capsule color to avoid association with mental illness. But some question the change, claiming that aggressive marketing of Serafem could be hurting women's health.

Commentator Andrei Codrescu and girlfriend dine out on rabbit stew and turtle soup. Their meals cause them various pains.

NPR's Guy Raz reports from Berlin that on this day in the year 1516, Frederick of the First of Bavaria introduced a law guaranteeing the purity of beer. The law -- known as the Rheinheitsgebot -- has regulated German brewing ever since. It strictly limits what ingredients can go into beer, so German brewers won't produce beverages like blueberry beer or hemp beer.

In the final part of her month long series on money, NPR's Susan Stamberg reports on the question of money in marriage and divorce. She focuses on a highly publicized divorce case involving a stay-at-home mother, whose husband was a top level corporate executive. The net worth of Gary and Lorna Wendt was $100 million in 1995, when he filed for divorce. She contested a settlement of 10 million dollars and was then awarded $20 million, plus $250,000 per year in alimony for life. (7:36) (Lorna Wendt is founder of www.equalityinmarriage.or

Host Bob Edwards talks with the BBC's Charles Scanlon in Tokyo about the man expected to be Japan's next prime minister. Junichiro Koizumi is a renegade in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and is expected to win a second-round vote by party lawmakers Tuesday.