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Noah talks with John Brumgardt, Director of the Charleston Museum in South Carolina, about the raising of the wreckage of the H.L Hunley, a Confederate submarine. The H.L. Hunley is said to be the first sub in the world to sink an enemy warship. Brumgardt talks about how the wreck was pulled out of the water, and the plans to restore it for display at the Charleston Museum.

NPR's David Welna reports that United Airlines is canceling two thousand flights in September. United says a continuing contract dispute between the airline and its pilots is contributing to the cancellations. But the pilots disagree, and say passengers should blame United Airlines management because it failed to prepare for the summer flight schedule.

Commentator Reynolds Price muses on the reasons why the vivid ease and eloquence of letter writing has all but died out. He bemoans the loss of an irreplaceable source of history, expression and human encounter. He cites the lasting gift of a vivid letter from his grade school teacher about her first migraine.

Sixty-six large fires are burning in the western United States today. This is being called the worst fire season in fifty years. NPR's Aaron Schachter reports on the financial cost of this year's firefighting.

Commentator Carol Wasserman contemplates the realities of aging while floating like "a bed of kelp" off the beach in Massachusetts.

Up to 40 percent of inmates in US prisons are infected with Hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can cause fatal liver disease. Because treatment is expensive and often does not work, most prison systems are choosing to do little or nothing about the problem. Christine Arrasmith from member station KPLU in Seattle reports.

William Mercer, known to many listeners as the disk jockey, Rosco, died last week at the age of 73. Rosco worked on several radio stations on both coasts from the 60's through the 80's, and in the 90's was a sports announcer for CBS. Noah offers an appreciation.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports on a growing Buddhist movement in a seemingly unlikely country -- Mexico. He visited a Buddhist monastery in the western state of Vera Cruz. It's resources are being stretched by the growing popularity of its teachings.

Commentator Jim Sleeper says news that Senator Joe Lieberman will be the first Jew on a major national ticket says volumes about past mistakes of the Democratic party. He says Lieberman is a return to the party's center. Had the party kept Lieberman's kind of balance of faith and political pragmatism, of family values and social justice, says Sleeper, a lot of its faithful wouldn't have left to become neo-conservatives.

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.

As part of NPR's summer jobs series, Patty Murray reports from Door County, Wisconsin on the Peninsula Players. Professional actors and college students share meals and cabins all summer while putting on five plays. The director casts people willing to be "good campers" while appreciating the opportunity to concentrate on their craft among the pines by the lake. (5:00) Music played one minute before the hour: "Some Cow Fonque" from the CD "Buckshot LeFonque" by the band of the same name, headed by Brandford Marsalis, copyright 1994, Sony Music Entertainment.

In Nashville today, Al Gore formally introduced his runningmate, Senator Joseph Lieberman. The two-term Senator from Connecticut is the first person of Jewish faith to be nominated for a major party ticket, and he thanked Gore "for making this miracle possible." The two Democrats then set their sights on the GOP ticket and the race ahead. NPR's Anthony Brooks was there.

Safety advocates today called on Ford Motor Company and Japan's Bridgestone Corporation, makers of Firestone tires, to pull certain models of truck tires off the market. Analysis of accident statistics show sport utility vehicles with these tire models are several times more likely to be involved in road crashes than similar SUV's with different tires. NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports. (4:00) Please note: The US Department of Transportation consumer hotline number to report tire incidents is 1-888-327-4236.

NPR's Elaine Korry reports the advent of the Internet -- and Web-based travel companies -- has forced many travel agencies to change their approach or go out of business. While some agents have closed, others have specialized - in travel for disabled people, or in adventure travel. Still others have taken their businesses online in order to compete.

NPR's Martin Kaste reports that Augusto Pinochet may now face charges for crimes committed during his dictatorship. The former dictator had been given immunity, but yesterday Chile's Supreme Court confirmed a decision to revoke that privilege.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from London on Cuban photographer Alberto Korda's lawsuit against a British ad agency for using his world famous photo of Cuban Revolutionary Che Guervara to sell vodka. Korda snapped the picture in 1960 and later gave it away to an Italian publisher. The lawsuit argues that Korda's copyright has been infringed, even though it seems as if the photo is in the public domain.

Commentator Jedediah Purdy talks about how the message of advertising has changed over the years.

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.

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.

Commentator and musician John Paul talks about playing Trio Sonatas by J.S. Bach on A Lautenwercke (LOW-ten-work) -- a harpsichord with gut strings that give it the sound of a lute. (3:45) {STATIONS NOTE:} John Paul plays Lautenwercke with Shawn Leopard on a CD entitled "Johann Sebastian Bach: The Complete Trio Sonatas," from Lyrichord Discs Inc. Catalog number LEMS-8045. Copyright 2000.

NPR's Ted Clark reports thaT Venezuela's nationalistic President Hugo Chavez is set to be the first elected head of state to visit Iraq's Saddam Hussein since the Gulf War. U-S officials are clearly displeased and have sought to pressure him not to visit Baghdad. Chavez, who was just re-elected under a new constitution he helped draw up, is touring OPEC countries to urge a summit and appears to be enjoying showing his independence from US policy.

Host Howard Berkes talks to Robert Blendon of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government about the accuracy and meaning of polls. Blendon says the farther away from an election, the less accurate the poll. He also says that respondents are reluctant to admit they won't vote for candidates from minority groups.

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.

The governor of Montana is expected to announce today the closure of vast areas of public land in the southwestern corner of the state. Nearly a million acres are blackened across the West as firefighters try to keep up with the worst wildfire season in fifty years. Kathy Witkowsky reports from Missoula, Montana.

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.