Elena Kagan's confirmation as a Supreme Court justice is all but certain, however, that didn't stop Senator John Cornyn from having a testy exchange with the nominee. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich says Cornyn took "a swipe" at Kagan with his characterization of the military recruitment ban at Harvard as "separate but equal." That story, and this morning's headlines. 

In California, an outbreak of whooping cough — a bacterial infection that results in fits of coughing — has reached epidemic propotions. Five infants, all of them Latino, have died this year. California health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated. Meanwhile, in Colorado, an outbreak of meningitis has killed two Fort Collins residents. The two diseases aren't connected, but their appearance is raising questions about whether we've become complacent about getting vaccinations — or whether lack of access to health care is to blame.

For better or worse, the beach book is the Rodney Dangerfield of publishing. It gets no respect.

But Patrik Henry Bass says that, despite their bad rap, we shouldn’t be ashamed of diving into and savoring the fluffiest of literary concoctions. The senior editor for Essence magazine, and a lover of a wide variety of genres, Patrik says there are loads of delicious beach books hitting shelves right now – and that we don’t necessarily have to respect them to enjoy them.

Patrik's top five picks for the season (as well as two bonus suggesions) are after the jump.

General David Petraeus was confirmed by the Senate yesterday as General Stanley McChrystal's replacement as top commander for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. A demoralized army, an inept Afghan government seen as hopelessly corrupt, increasingly skeptical international partners, a disinterested American public, a report that American taxpayer money has inadvertently been funneled to Afghan warlords, and a new torrent of violence resulting in 100 military casualities over that last month are among the panoply of challenges Petraeus faces when he touches down in Afghanistan.

A St. Louis veterans hospital may have infected thousands of its patients with HIV and hepatitis. The Department of Veterans Affairs mailed letters out to 1,812 veterans, warning them they may potentially be infected, because dental equipment "may not have been cleaned correctly" at the clinic at the John Cochran hospital.

The FAA recently acknowledged that unmanned aircraft, sometimes called drones, are evolving from military assets into potential tools for all manner of civilian and domestic law enforcement uses. In aviation parlance they're now called unmanned aircraft systems or "UASs" and vary widely in size, shape, function and how they are controlled. UASs can have a wingspan as big as a Boeing 737 or just a few feet, smaller than a radio controlled model airplane. But are they safe? And what do they say about issues of privacy?

President Barack Obama will press for comprehensive immigration reform in a speech at American University this morning, two months after Arizona enacted its controversial immigration law. We talk with Univision's Maria Elena Salinas about what she hopes to hear from the president today; this morning's headlines.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to give a speech on comprehensive immigration reform at the American University School of International Service in Washington, D.C. today. This in the wake of Arizona's controversial immigration law, and the threat of other states passing their own immigration legislation. Valeria Fernandez, a reporter for Feet in Two Worlds — a project of the Center for New York City Affairs at The New School; and Maria Elena Salinas, an anchor at Univision, join us to talk about what they and the hispanic population hope the President will say in his speech.

In honor of Sen. Robert Byrd, flags at the White House will be flown at half-staff. Today, his body will lie in the Senate chamber before being flown to West Virginia for a memorial service. Friday, there will be a public viewing at a memorial attended by Congressional leaders and President Obama and then the body will return to Washington D.C. for a burial where he will be laid to rest next to his wife, Emma.

We spoke yesterday about the Minneapolis magazine, Lavender, which outed an anti-gay pastor. We hear what you, our listeners, had to say about the ethical issues surrounding the outing of an anti-gay pastor by Lavender Magazine. A journalist went undercover into a Christian 12-step program for gay men, where he saw Reverend Tom Brock, an anti-gay Lutherin pastor. Listeners, many of whom are in 12-step programs, responded to the story.

This week Alcoholics Anonymous holds its annual meeting where they are celebrating their 75th anniversary. More than a million Americans attend one of the 55,000 meeting groups, and countless more have been through the program since Bill Wilson and and Ebby Thatcher began spreading the gospel of surrender in 1935. What still isn't clear though, is why it works, or more accurately, why it works for some and not for others.

Author and Rolling Stone contributing editor David Lipsky won a National Magazine Award for writing about the late author David Foster Wallace last year. We talk to Lipsky about his recent book, "Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace," and his travels with the author. We also hear from Wallace's sister, Amy Wallace-Havens, on her brother's legacy.

Waiting lists for for government-funded life-sustaining antiretroviral drugs for people with H.I.V. and AIDS have ballooned to nearly 1,800 people from zero just three years ago. What's caused this change? Quite simply, the recession.

Diminished government coffers combined with widespread loss of medical insurance due to unemployment has created the perfect storm for a burgeoning public health and budgetary crisis. Louisiana, Florida, Arkansas and Utah are among numerous states that have either closed enrollment or narrowed eligibility in the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. Ten states are no longer covering treatments that do not directly combat H.I.V. or opportunistic infections, and Florida will likely winnow its list of 101 covered medications to 53.

The Negro Leagues Grave Marker Project is setting out to locate all the unmarked graves of baseball players in the Leagues. Dr. Jeremy Krock, a 52 year old anesthesiologist from Illinois joined up with Larry Lester, a Negro Leagues historian. Lester calls this a quest to follow the "thread that leads to their last resting place." They've made some amazing discoveries, including the resting place of Bill Gatewood, who taught Satchel Paige his "hesitation pitch."

One of the worst blunders of the government's widely-criticized response to Hurricane Katrina has resurfaced in the Gulf region. Trailers that the Federal Emergency Management Agency provided to victims of the hurricane that were later found to contain dangerous levels of formaldehyde by the Environmental Protection Agency, and subsequently banned by the federal government, are making a comeback. 

Cleanup workers are snapping up the toxic trailers from companies and individuals who have purchased them from government surplus auctions.  Dave Cohen, news director at WWL in New Orleans, joins the program with the latest.