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Commentator Elissa Ely goes with her little girl to buy underpants. The three-year-old knows exactly what she wants. Dwarf underpants. Grumpy specifically. She has made her choice, and there is no changing her mind.

Noah talks with Phil Whitten, the Editor of Swimming World Magazine, who is covering the Olympic swimming trials in Indianapolis. He joins by phone, poolside, to talk about new swimsuits, which are intended to make swimmers faster. The Olympic Committee had approved them, but several countries have objected, so they will re-evaluate that decision.

Noah talks to Stacy Jessop, a teacher at Corvallis Middle School in CorvalLis, Montana, about being evacuated from her home to avoid an oncoming wildfire. She's now staying at a Red Cross shelter at Westview Middle School in the town of Hamilton, Montana. She says she could hear the fire roaring nearby as she fled her house with her family. She also describes an effort to retrieve her wedding ring and her family's pets.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that the presidential campaign would restrain a more candid Defense Department from calling a halt to the development of a national missile defense system.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Corsica that a descendant of the most famous Corsican of all -- Napoleon Bonaparte -- is now running for mayor of the French island's capital, Ajaccio (ah-ZHAHK-see-oh). Ironically, the great-great-great-great-grand nephew of the emperor, Prince Charles Napoleon, is a political unknown.

In the final installment of a three-part series on the Sicilian Mafia, NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Palermo that many Sicilian women are playing a more assertive role in their society. Long relegated to the shadows of a society steeped in religion, superstition and machismo, Sicilian women have now joined the battle against the Mafia.

All Things Considered Host Robert Siegel is in Philadelphia where the Republican Party convention opened today. He reports that the GOP goal is for a largely controversy-free meeting to demonstrate party unity. That plan got off to a good start today as the party passed its platform with little dissent.

The Republican convention that began today, and its Democratic counterpart that begins in two weeks are underwritten by taxpayer financing. Each major party gets $13.5 million for its four-day nominating extravaganza. The public funding was supposed to fee the parties from their dependence on private sponsors for these events. But the parties have found ways to accept private donations as well. NPR's Peter Overby reports the conventions are now more elaborate and expensive than ever.

Youth Radio reporter Amit Paley speaks to young Republicans at this year's convention. The GOP is drawing more and more people between the ages of 18 and 24. Many are drawn by the parties position on taxes and social security---others are hoping to be a moderating force on the social issues.

Robert talks to Jack Randorff, the acoustical engineer in charge of sound at the Republican Convention. It's Randorff's job to make sure everyone at the convention -- and perhaps more importantly, the broadcast audience -- can hear the sounds of the gavel, and the voices of the speakers. (2:30)NOTE: MUSIC HEARD HERE WAS THE ESKIMO "MOUTH BOW" VERSION OF THE "ALL THINGS CONSIDERED" THEME, PLAYED BY JOHN PALMES OF JUNEAU, ALASKA

At the University of Dayton today, George Bush addressed one of the biggest crowds of his campaign, more than 3,000 people. He talked about education, social security, strengthening the military, and promoted his wife Laura's speech tonight to the Republican National Convention. After the rally, Bush rode with Mrs. Bush to the airport to see her off to Philadelphia. NPR's Don Gonyea is traveling with the campaign, Linda talked with him this afternoon.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr says that George W. Bush will have to mask his true colors if he is to emerge from the Republican National Convention with the support of both the overwhelmingly conservative delegates and the more moderate general public.

NPR's Larry Abramson looks at the FBI's controversial Internet eavesdropping device, known as "Carnivore." Twenty-eight members of Congress have called on the FBI to stop using Carnivore because, depending on how it is programmed, it has the potential to invade the privacy of innocent citizens. But, if programmed to delete information unrelated to its search, a Carnivore tap on Internet communications can be less intrusive than court-approved wiretaps on telephones.

NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on a new study today that concludes that the falling murder and suicide rates in America are not related to the 1994 Brady law to regulate handgun purchases. The study's authors say the findings illustrate the enormous impact of the unregulated gun market on crime. Independent scientists say the research is sound -- but its ability to judge the effectiveness of gun control is limited.

The International Olympic Committee's medical commission today approved a combined blood and urine test to detect the banned performance-enhancing drug EPO. The decision must be approved by the IOC's executive board meeting later this month, but experts said it is very likely the new test will be used during the Sydney games in September. Finding a reliable test for EPO, which up to now has been virtually undetectable, has been a priority for the Olympic movement. EPO stimulates the production of oxygen-rich blood cells and is popular with endurance athletes. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.

Writer and editor William Maxwell has died at the age of 91. Maxwell was on staff at The New Yorker for forty years, where he worked with many famous authors -- including J.D. Salinger and John Updike.

All Things Considered Host Robert Siegel is at the Republican Convention in Philadelphia this week, where "diversity" is one of the watchwords. Minority orators, singers, even dancers are fixtures on the podium, applauded enthusiastically by the largely white audience. This hasn't always been the experience of African-American Republicans, who often feel isolated in their party and their communities. NPR's Wade Goodwyn went to Philadelphia's African-American Museum today, where he talked to many black women who are delegates to the convention.

San Francisco's high rate of pedestrian street deaths. The city has more killed than any other city in the nation, twice the rate of New York City. Councilwoman Mabel Teng issued a report on Monday with recommendations on how the city can combat the problem.

NPR's Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem reports the government of Prime Minister Ehud Barak has survived yet another "no confidence" vote in the Israeli parliament.

Veteran Broadcaster Robert Trout casts back to his early days as a reporter covering politics, to tell the story of the Republican Party's slide from a majority party to the minority in the 1930's and 1940's. For its first seventy years, the GOP was the dominant party. But from Hoover's loss to Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election until now, Republicans have been playing catch-up to the Democrats. This is the first of two reports.