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A former presidential aide testified before a House committee today about some notes he wrote in 1993 regarding the firings of White House travel office employees. The notes mention conversations in which third parties told the witness that Hillary Rodham Clinton wanted the employees fired. Mrs Clinton has said she did not direct any dismissals, and NPR's Jon Greenberg reports that the witness testified that she did not tell him to fire them.

Linda has a conversation with Bob Bennett, the chairman of the Ohio state Republican Party about the impact Bob Dole will have in his visit to the state tomorrow. While Bennett is happy that Dole will be coming to Ohio, he does believe that regional state races could be won by Republican candidates on their own -- without Dole's help. Some polls are showing Dole down by 14 points in the state. Bennett explains that voters don't seem to have passionate feelings about this election at the presidential level.

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.

Last week we asked listeners to phone in their questions concerning the standoff between the U-S and North Korea. Today we answer some of those question with the help of Ambassador Wendy Sherman who is the former special advisor on North Korea during the Clinton administration. She's now a partner at the international consulting firm -- the Albright Group. Also joining the conversation: Donald Oberdorfer, a professor at Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. He's also the author of "Two Koreas: A Contemporary History." (12:30) Oberdorfer's book is published by Basic Books, 1999.

In June of 1951, a husband and wife -- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg -- were executed in the United States. They had been convicted of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. The star witness against them was Ethel's brother, David Greenglass. Greenglass also served 10 years in prison for spying. And then, he and his wife and children disappeared, into a fog of false identities. Decades later, New York Times reporter Sam Roberts tracked him down. Roberts recorded his conversations with Greenglass. Robert Siegel talks with Roberts about his encounters with Greenglass.

At a Congressional hearing today, FBI general counsel Howard Shapiro denied allegations about Hillary Rodham Clinton's involvement in the hiring of Craig Livingstone by the White House. Livingstone resigned his position this summer after it was revealed that his office had improperly acquired the FBI files of hundreds of former White House employees. Shapiro said the FBI had not acted improperly by notifying the White House that a former FBI agent had notes of a conversation in which then-White House counsel Bernard Nussbaum allegedly said Mrs. Clinton had asked that Livingstone be hired. Shapiro also defended the FBI's questioning of the former agents about the notes.

NPR's Cheryl Devall reports that President Clinton's controversial campaign advisor, Dick Morris, resigned today after published reports that he had carried on a year-long relationship with a prostitute, and had shared with her a copy of Hillary Clinton's convention speech before it was given. It is also alleged that Morris let the woman listen in on a presidential phone conversation. Morris has been a lightning rod for criticism because of his brash style and advice to Clinton to move to the center politically. The resignation comes at the high point of a convention that Democrats -- and the president's campaign staff -- hope will propel Clinton to victory in November.

More than 5,000 people in Britain converted to Islam last year. That's an average of 14 a day, and most of them are women, including Lauren Booth, Tony Blair's sister-in-law. Academic studies in the U.K. have concluded that the idea that these conversions are driven mostly by marriage is a myth, and that most converts are simply attracted by the values of Islam. But there's a paradox here. In a controversial speech this week, Britain's first female Muslim Cabinet minister complained of growing intolerance toward Muslims in the U.K.

The Third Coast Chamber Collective is hosting a number of events this summer including summer camps for kids and adults. The TCCC also hosts a Festival which begins on August 12th at locations across northern Minnesota. Cellist and Co-founder of the TCCC, Magdalena Sas and Managing Director of the Itasca Orchestra and Strings Program, Buffy Dege, joined KAXE producer Max Philbrook for a conversation about these events and the importance of unexpected chamber music to northern Minnesota. Click the "Listen" player above to hear the full conversation.

Award-winning children's book author Rachel Vail took time to chat with Heidi Holtan and Kari Hedlund about her new book Sometimes I Grumblesquinch. The book, illustrated by Hyewon Yum, was published at a time when kids haven't had the practice of daily social emotional learning that comes with daily interactions with peers, neighbors, and strangers. Click the "Listen" player above to hear the full conversation PLUS a special guest interview with a young reader of the book.

At long last, Luke Gorski has arrived at the stage in his journey that he has been looking forward to since the very beginning of his 10 week, 66 park journey: the Minnesota state parks along the north shore of Lake Superior. Read on to find out more about what makes this part of the state so special for Luke. Or to hear the whole conversation with Luke, Heidi, and Staff Phenologist John Latimer, click the "Listen" player above.

Commentator Jim Sleeper says news that Senator Joe Lieberman will be the first Jew on a major national ticket says volumes about past mistakes of the Democratic party. He says Lieberman is a return to the party's center. Had the party kept Lieberman's kind of balance of faith and political pragmatism, of family values and social justice, says Sleeper, a lot of its faithful wouldn't have left to become neo-conservatives.

Conservative Christian leaders met in Memphis this past weekend to talk about their role in the upcoming elections. The movement, which turned out millions of voters in the 1994 elections and has been considered pivotal in some races, appears to be experiencing some growing pains. NPR's Lynn Neary reports that members are divided over the best tack to take in the presidential elections, especially if the Republican nominee is not committed to their strong anti-abortion views.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports that Bob Dole's position on the Republican platform's abortion plank has set the stage for a renewed fight this summer at the party's national convention in San Diego. Conservative state party activists are trying to ensure that delegates to the convention are committed to keeping the plank as it is, calling for a constitutional amendment to ban abortion. Dole supports that position, but would like to include language recognizing that there are differences within the party on this issue.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports that thousands of people, many of them children, assembled on the National Mall today. "Leave no Child Behind" was the slogan for the day -- in an event organized by Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund. Children and adults from across the country were there -- no official crowd estimates yet. Conservatives criticized the event, saying it was just a party where liberals could push for more government spending.

Linda Wertheimer went to northeastern Ohio last week to talk to conservative voters about Robert Dole. Tonight we hear from businessmen who say they plan to vote for Dole, but there's little enthusiasm for him. They say he's not articulating his message, that he's being manipulated by the media and being badly advised. They say he's trying to be a salesman like President CLinton, but they want sincerity in their candidate, not political posturing.

Mexico's top two presidential candidates are each claiming victory in the country's highly polarized election -- and their parties have accused one another of election fraud. An official tally of the contest, in which 30 million Mexicans voted, isn't expected for days. Though sharply divided by ideology, leftist Andres Manual Lopez Obrador and conservative Felipe Calderon are separated by less than one-tenth of one percent.

Egyptian Sayyid Qutb's writings were the foundation for al Qaeda and other radical Islamic movements. But the America he visited in 1949 -- the conservative town of Greeley, Colo. -- doesn't really seem like the soulless, materialistic place that would inspire such hatred of the West. NPR's Robert Siegel visits Greeley to talk about the town as it was and as it is today. Read excerpts from Qutb's book about Greeley, and view photos of the town.

Tens of thousands of students have marched through the streets of London in Britain's largest protest so far against the government's new austerity program. The march was specifically organized to protest the tripling of university tuition fees, with many students saying the increase would mark the end of opportunity for children from poorer families. Although largely peaceful, some of the protesters tussled with police and broke windows in the headquarters of the Conservative Party, the senior partner in Britain's coalition government.

Over the last two years, Wisconsin seems to have become an epicenter of national politics, and even more so conservative politics. Currently, Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick Paul Ryan is directing political heat Wisconsin's way and earlier this week, long-time Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson overcame a competitive primary battle. Guest host Cheryl Corley discusses politics in the Badger State with NPR's Don Gonyea.