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With the Vice-Presidential candidates meeting tonight in Kentucky, NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on the significance of V.P. debates. Historically, voters pay little attention to the men running for the number two spot...but that's been slowly changing over the last few campaigns. With this year's tight election, many people think that Joe Lieberman or Dick Cheney could help sway voters. (

Coffee cultivation contributes to deforestation and exploited labor. Smithsonian Magazine reports researchers found a way to do without cultivation — growing coffee from plant cells in bioreactors.

Protests and rallies against how "dot-com" culture is changing certain districts in the San Francisco bay area just reached a new level. This month the city of San Mateo banned "dot-coms" from locating in its downtown district. From member station KQED, Caitlyn Kim reports.

A number of the athletes at the Olympic games this week took a detour to Flagstaff, Arizona before they arrived in Sydney. They were taking advantage of the regions High Altitude Training Sports Training Complex. High altitude is known to stimulate red blood cell production which improves muscle endurance. The athletes hope the experience gave them a competitive edge. Mitch Teich reports from KNAU in Flagstaff.

Twenty years ago, following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Carter announced that the U-S would boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The boycott affected some 200 U-S athletes, many of whom remain bitter about being denied their only chance to compete for their country in the Olympics. Nancy Greenleese of member station KPBS reports.

For some time, scientists have generally agreed that carbon dioxide from tailpipes and smokestacks is the principal gas responsible for global warming. Now, some scientists are suggesting that more attention should be paid to other gases that contribute to climate change. A new study in Science magazine finds that farming practices that are supposedly environmentally friendly actually contribute greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

Christine Arrasmith from member station KPLU reports on clean-up efforts at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Eastern Washington state. The Hanford site contains one of the world's largest backlogs of radioactive waste, dating back to World War Two. This spring, the Department of Energy fired the firm contracted to do the job, which is supposed to be completed by 2028. Officials say that deadline will be tough to meet.

Robert talks to Laurie Mason, a reporter for the Bucks County Courier-Times in Levittown, Pennsylvania, who is covering the trial of a man charged with damaging more than 7-thousand dollars worth of baked goods at a supermarket. Confronted with videotaped evidence of the incidents, Samuel Feldman admits he did touch the bread, cookies, bagels, rolls at the store in Lower Makefield, Pennsylvania. But he says he was only testing the freshness of the goods.

At each Olympics, the winner of the 100 meters becomes known as the fastest man in the world. The race lasts a tad over 9 seconds, but it requires tremendous physical and mental preparation. It's not unusual for an elite sprinter to engage a scientist to analyze the biomechanics of his gait. But as NPR's Tom Goldman reports, at race time simplicity is best. Top runners say they are able to clear their minds of extraneous thoughts during their races.

NPR's Martin Kaste reports from Santiago that the supreme court of Chile has voted that former dictator Augusto Pinochet may be stripped of immunity against prosecution. That ruling clears the way for the aging general to be put on trial for the kidnappings and presumed murders of political opponents during the years when his military regime ruled Chile. Families of the so-called "disappeared" have been seeking information about the victims as well as prosecution of those responsible.