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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.

NPR's Steve Krueger reports that aerospace conglomerate Boeing has seen a huge number of its engineers leave in the past few months. Many say the cause of this Brain Drain is the company's move to use private contractors in much of its research and development projects. Officials at Boeing are considering a number of programs they hope will help them recruit and retain the engineers it needs to stay competitive.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports on the first day of activities at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. While the delegates are more that 80 percent white, the platform speakers were predominantly black, Asian, Latino and female. Last night retired general Colin Powell called on Republicans to follow the example set by George W. Bush, and reach out to minorities. Delegates also heard from Bush's wife, Laura, who spoke of her husband's strength of character.

The Linux computer operating system has moved from the computer world's fringe to the heart of corporate America. The free, decentralized system is being featured by big computer makers such as Dell and IBM. And it's running more and more high-end computer servers. But Linux is still hard to use and average computer users are unlikely to abandon Microsoft's Windows anytime soon. NPR's Chris Arnold reports from the Linux Expo in San Jose.

NPR's Melissa Gray reports on the history behind one of literary America's cult classics... A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole. The book follows the exploits of the over-educated Ignatius J. Reilly as he seeks employment and social revolution in his hometown of New Orleans. The book has been in print for 20 years, but fans still know little about its author or his inspiration.

There are many scientific hurdles to be cleared before dreams of using animal organs for human transplants have a chance of becoming reality. While two teams of scientists report progress this week in developing the means to create genetically engineered pigs whose organs will be accepted by the human body, another group of researchers shows that the risk of transferring animal viruses to humans during transplants could be a real one. NPR's David Kestenbaum has more.

NPR's Barbara Bradley reports that the Immigration and Naturalization Service is preparing guidelines that tell district offices they can show more discretion in enforcing the 1996 immigration reform law. Deportations and incarcerations based on the tough law drew criticism. The INS said Congress left it no room for discretion. Some members of Congress insisted that the agency was allowed to use more judgment. As the INS moves to ease its guidelines, some members of Congress are developing legislation to adjust the law.

The 11th World Conference on Tobacco or Health wraps up in Chicago today with delegates -- all of them anti-smoking antivists -- going home to focus on how they can work towards the same goal. Tobacco-related diseases kill more than four-million people worldwide annually. Many public health officials believe smoking rates would fall if federal regulators had more control over tobacco products. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.

Ellen Ciurczak of member station KQED reports that the California state senate has passed an emergency measure that would reduce the cost of electricity. The state assembly won't consider the bill until after next week's Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Under deregulation, electric bills for some Californians have doubled and even tripled this summer.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports that the Russian navy is continuing rescue operations, hoping against hope to save survivors among the 118 men aboard the submarine Kursk. British and Norwegian teams are heading to the site of the disaster in the Barents Sea, but won't arrive before Saturday. President Vladimir Putin said today that immediately after the accident in the Barents Sea last weekend, he was told the chances for saving the men were extremely slim.