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NPR's Brooke Gladstone looks at the history of convention coverage - and the reasons for the declining interest in it - over the course of this century. It seems H.L. Mencken was just as disgruntled with conventions in the 1920's as was Ted Koppel four years ago.

Host Jacki Lyden talks to NPR's Peter Kenyon in Philadelphia, where Republicans are finalizing the 2000 GOP Platform. Except for the controversy over abortion, this year's platform has been softened and toned down from the party's statements in 1996. It reflects the tight hold the George W. Bush campaign has had over this year's convention.

Mid-summer is the busiest time of year for America's traveling circuses. These family-owned businesses play rural towns and county fairs across the country. Stiff competition from movies and television has forced circuses to be leaner and more efficient - but the allure of clowns and elephants and trapeze artists still draws a good crowd. Reporter Brian Mann spent the morning recently with a circus as they prepared for a show.

Linda has a series of interviews about tonight's scheduled shutdown of Napster -- the Web-based service that allows users to trade music recordings free of charge. A US District court judge ordered Napster to stop facilitating these trades tonight at midnight, saying the company was aiding copyright infringement. Linda talks to Ric Dube an analyst with Webnoize, which researches and reports on the new media entertainment industry. Then she chats with two university students. First, Jeff Meredith, who will be a senior at Indiana University in the fall, and has 1000 MP3 files on his computer, about 400 of which come from Napster. And finally, Sam Ross, a student at the University of Virginia who has thousands of mp3 files, downloaded courtesy of Napster.

Millions of music fans cheered Friday's appeals court ruling that lets the internet music company Napster stay in business at least temporarily. Napster was slated to shut down most of its Web service at midnight Friday. Jacki talks to NPR's Rick Karr about why Napster has been such a hot-button case for music fans and internet users, and why the move to shut it down may hurt the recording industry more than help it.

On Friday the Justice Department asked the U.S. Supreme Court for its official thoughts about pot. Two weeks ago a federal judge in San Francisco ruled there can be legitimate medical reasons to make the drug available legally. Now the Justice Department's action could set the stage for new rules about marijuana. Kai Ryssdal reports from San Francisco.

Host Jacki Lyden talks with Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto about her first album Tanto Tempo. Bebel, 33, is daughter of Joao Gilberto, the legendary guitarist, who founded the Bossa Nova music style in Brazil more than 30 years ago. Bebel has spiced her collection of songs with the cool tones of Bossa Nova and a touch of electronic sounds from a diverse group of producers. (Tanto Tempo Ziriguiboom/Six Degrees 657036 1026-2)

NPR's Rob Gifford takes a visit to a summer camp for overweight children in Shanghai China. The opening of American fast-food restaurants, and only children who are spoiled with sugary treats, have resulted in an explosion of obese children.

Convention planners have been worried about Seattle-style protests and disruptions this week in Philadelphia, but so far, the demonstrations have been low-key. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports on the Unity 2000 protest activities today.

On Tuesday, three members of the Kansas State Board of Education who voted to remove the theory of evolution from state-wide assessment tests are facing election battles. Peter Hancock of member station KANU reports that the school board race is garnering unprecedented attention, and the evolution issue has become something of a litmus test for candidates in many state-wide races.

Host Jacki Lyden speaks with Khalil Shikaki of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research about Arab reaction to President Clinton's statement that he would consider moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Such a move would directly support Israeli claims over the city. Shikaki says the President's statement helps breed deep suspicion that the U.S. isn't impartial when it arbitrates between Israel and the PLO.

She could become the nation's new First Lady - but what does the nation know of Laura Bush? This week's GOP convention will give voters the first chance to see the woman who stands at the candidate's side. NPR's Wade Goodwyn spent time with Bush friends and associates and brings us this profile of Laura Bush.

GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona arrived in Philadelphia a day early to address the Shadow Convention, an unofficial gathering focused on campaign finance reform and poverty reduction. McCain urged his followers to turn their support to Governor Bush, which drew heckles from some in the audience. NPR's Lynn Neary reports from the University of Pennsylvania campus.

NPR's Ted Clark reports the Camp David summit is now in its seventh day, and US officials say the pace of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations has accelerated. In an interview published Monday, President Clinton said he was more optimistic than when the summit began, but added that he does not know if an agreement is possible.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on today's Senate debate over a bill that would give a tax break to some married couples. Sponsors of the measure say it fixes a discrepancy that causes some married people to pay more income tax than they would if they were filing as singles. Senators opposed to the bill say it also gives a tax cut to couples who don't pay the so-called marriage penalty, but in fact pay less filing jointly than they would singly.

Linda talks with William G. Gale, a Senior Fellow of Economic Studies at The Brookings Institution about the tax burden on Americans 20 years ago, compared with the tax burden today.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that the prospect of Congressional opposition to peace's price tag looms over the negotiations at Camp David.

NPR's Cheryl Corley reports a new study by the group Railwatch says miles and miles of railroad tracks pose potential safety hazards and are not regularly inspected. The report also charges that increased transportation of hazardous materials by rail has raised public health and environmental risks. The railroads strongly dispute the report's allegations.

Commentator Lenore Skenazy expresses her thoughts about rodents and their place in Manhattan.

Up until a few short weeks ago, Whittier, Alaska - a small town of 300 or so people could only be reached by rail. But now - the tunnel which links it to the rest of the state has been opened to vehicle traffic as well. As Anne Sutton reports, tourists are taking advantage of this and rushing to view the former army post. But what they're finding there isn't quite what they expected.