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Mary Louise Kelly reports from London that former British spy David Shayler returned home from exile in France today and was promptly arrested. Shayler has been charged under Britain's official secrets act. He has accused the MI-6 intelligence service of plotting to kill Libyan leader Moammar Gaddhafi -- a charge the British government denies.

Commentator Patt Morrison says she can't seem to escape the ads that appear in the oddest places.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports on a Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll that finds more Americans than ever support public education, and reforming rather than changing the system. The annual poll finds for the first time that low funding for schools is listed as the number one problem. Poll respondents of both parties say that the federal government should give schools more money without no strings attached. They see Democrats as more friendly to public schools than Republicans in general, but they see Al Gore and George W. Bush as equally good for public schools.

Host Renee Montagne talks to Dr. Enoch Gordis, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism about a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. According to the study the drug ondansetron used to treat nausea in cancer patients can help alcoholics reduce their drinking significantly.

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports that Russia's President Vladimir Putin has declared today a day of mourning in honor of the 118 men who perished when the Kursk sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Chesterfield, Missouri on George W. Bush's campaign through the Midwest. The Texas Governor intended to focus on education with stops at two elementary schools, but he was questioned by reporters on the luke-warm reception voters have given his tax cut plan.

Jennifer Schmidt reports residents of Walpole, New Hampshire are attempting to record everything that happens in their town this year. The idea is to leave future citizens with a complete understanding of what life was like in Walpole at the dawn of the millennium.

Host Renee Montagne talks to NPR's Julie McCarthy about the resumption of the Lockerbie bombing trial after a three-week summer recess. On trial are two Libyans accused of blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in December 1988, killing 270 people.

According to a recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts which found that jobs in the arts have decreased slightly even with the expanding economy. Artists still earn less than other professional occupations and moonlight 40% more often than other professionals.

Carolyn Johnsen, of Nebraska Public Radio reports from Omaha that residents of Boys Town vote today and tomorrow on whether to change the name of the famous refuge for young people. Half of the 33,000 residents are girls. Father Flannigan started his Boys' Home in 1913, and the name was changed to Boys Town in 1926. Girls were first admitted in 1979.

Host Jacki Lyden speaks with Suzanne Rogers of the Belfast Telegraph about new violence in Northern Ireland. Three people were killed this week in attacks between rival Protestant militia groups. Prisoners released under terms of Northern Ireland's peace agreement are returning home, seeking a cut of the drug trade or simply vengeance.

During last day of his two-day visit to Nigeria, President Clinton was confronted with one of Africa's most desperate problems: the spread of infectious diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS. At a gathering of AIDS activists and health care workers, the president heard from Nigerians who have AIDS and from children whose parents who have died of the disease. NPR's Mike Shuster has more from Abuja, the Nigerian capital.

Irish author, playwright and comedian Brendan O'Carroll speaks to host Jacki Lyden about his best-selling Agnes Browne trilogy, comprised of The Mammy, The Chiselers, and The Granny. The entire set is now available in U.S. The Angelica Houston film adaptation of The Mammy, called Agnes Browne, is available on video this month. (Putnam Penguin Publishers, 2000)

For more than thirty years photographer Mark PoKempner has been taking pictures of Chicago's legendary blues clubs. His new book Down at Theresa's: Chicago Blues is a visual artist's tribute to one city's musical legacy. Host Jacki Lyden tours some of Mark's favorite South Side clubs. (16:00) (Down at Theresa's - Chicago Blues: the Photographs of Mark PoKempner, by Wolfgang Schorlau; ISBN: 3791323008 (2000) For more information, check out our feature on "Down at Theresa".

From member station WHYY Mhari Saito reports that the city of Philadelphia is trying to shut down a neighborhood once associated with the radical separatist group MOVE. Fifteen years ago, dozens of homes were unintentionally destroyed when police dropped an incendiary device on a neighborhood house in an attempt to end a stand-off. The city rebuilt the homes, but now says they are unsafe.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports on the latest loss of power for Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Over the weekend, voters in Chiapas elected opposition party candidate Pablo Salazar as the state's governor.

Host Renee Montagne talks to Christine Brennan sports columnist for USA Today about the U.S. Olympic gymnastic trials in Boston over the weekend.

Host Renee Montagne talks to Maurice Isserman, about his biography of the late political activist and Morning Edition Commentator, Michael Harrington. Harrington's book, The Other America, had a profound effect on the 1960's debate over race and poverty. Harrington introduced the term, 'the culture of poverty,' which described poverty in socio-economic terms. He was a democratic socialist, who advocated the 'politics of coalition.' (8:30) Maurice Isserman's biography is titled, The Other American: the Life of Michael Harrington is published by Public Affairs; ISBN: 18916

Joe Smitherman is running for his 10th consecutive term as mayor of Selma, Alabama. He has been mayor since 1965. Smitherman once referred to Martin Luther King in very unflattering terms and was an unabashed racist. He says he has reformed. NPR's Debbie Elliott has a profile of this southern leader from another era.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Basque country of northwest Spain on the recent wave of terrorist attacks by the ETA separatist movement. Thousands of Spaniards turned out today to the two latest victims -- two police officers killed by a bomb yesterday. Militants say ETA broke an 18-month cease-fire, because the government failed to make any overtures to the guerrillas during the truce. But moderate Basque politicians, including some who initially supported the ETA movement years ago, say extremists hijacked the separatist cause.

Edward C. Walker, the inventor of the Lava Lamp, has died. Noah talks with Cressida Granger about Walker and his creation. She is the managing director and owner of Mathmos, which now owns and sells Lava Lamps.

Bill McGee, Editor of the Consumer Reports Travel Letter, joins Noah by phone from Yonkers, New York, to offer some tips on what to do if your flight is delayed or cancelled.

NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports that at least 50,000 of the striking Verizon Communications workers are back on the job today as the two-week strike against the largest local phone company winds down. The unions said they were happy with terms of the deal, which gives them better pay and better benefits; more important, from their perspective, the unions have increased their ability to organize the company's wireless and Internet divisions. Analysts say the settlement is being closely watched by telecommunications industry.

An Indian immigrant allegedly murdered her children to spare them the shame of divorce. The court is weighing whether holding different cultural beliefs mitigates the crime. Commentator Lis Wiehl feels she deserves compassion, but that excusing the murder could open the floodgates for other immigrants to use a similar defense.

Host Renee Montagne talks to NPR's Cokie Roberts about political events this week. Now that the Republican and Democratic conventions are out of the way, both Al Gore and George W. Bush are hitting the campaign trail with more vigor.