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Fred Allen, head of the selection committee for the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio, talks with Renee Montagne about this year's inductees. Their inventions range from fiberglass and the birth-control pill to Gore-Tex and the Internet.

After months of fighting and shelling, Ukraine has ended its combat mission in Mariupol, and its remaining soldiers have been evacuated to Russian-held territory.

NPR political editor Ken Rudin and guests discuss the recent GOP gubernatorial primary win in Ohio for Kenneth Blackwell.

Robert Siegel talks with Tom Friedman, "Foreign Affairs" columnist for The New York Times and the author of the newly-revised bestseller, The World is Flat. Friedman will discuss his piece in this month's issue of Foreign Policy, "The First Law of Petropolitics." In the article, Friedman posits that democratic institutions generally suffer when the price of oil rises, leading to petrol-producing countries that are simultaneously rich and corrupt.

Elvia Bautista was devastated when her younger brother was killed in a gang shooting. Now, she believes in remembering all the victims of gang violence even when doing so may endanger her own safety.

Filmmaker Liz Mermin talks about her documentary, The Beauty Academy of Kabul, which looks at the opening of a beauty academy by a group of Western women in Afghanistan.

Peggy Lee's most memorable tune was "Fever." A biography borrows the title of the 1958 hit, which encapsulated what many remember about the singer: her playful delivery, charisma and sexuality.

After leaving for better-paying jobs in the United States, migrants from the Mexican town of Malinalco find themselves missing their families and communities back home.

For Paul Simon, the songwriting process often proceeds "backward." The singer-songwriter explains what that means — and how it affects his new Surprise, a collaboration with electronic-music pioneer Brian Eno.

The image of a potential moviegoer downloading full-length movies from the Internet and burning them to a DVD is one that gives many Hollywood studio chiefs fits. But for executives in the adult-movie industry, the process is the key to a new business model.

President Bush names Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden to replace Porter Goss as director of the CIA, touching off what may be a tough confirmation battle. Several members of Congress have criticized a controversial eavesdropping program that Hayden ran as director of the National Security Agency.

Alex Chadwick talks with Christopher Joyce, who just returned from a four-day meeting in Canada with biologists working on plan for an enormous eco-region stretching nearly 2,000 miles from Wyoming to the far north of Canada's Yukon Territory.

A former contractor for the CIA is found guilty on four counts related to the beating death of a prisoner in Afghanistan. David Passaro is the first American civilian convicted of prisoner abuse in the Middle East. A onetime Green Beret medic, Passaro could face up to 11 1/2 years in prison when sentencing takes place later this year.

Hot Cheetos are a big winner for the Frito-Lay company. The extremely spicy, crunchy and somewhat addictive snack is hugely popular with schoolkids. But school officials are threatening to ban the junk food because they worry that kids are gorging themselves.

Some railroad buffs looking for luxury travel are willing to spend big bucks to ride on a vintage train car. The restored private cars often feature formal dining rooms, plasma televisions and fine wood interiors. Fewer than 200 such cars exist in the United States.

For years there has been controversy over how many Vietnam veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder -- a psychiatric condition that can result from experiencing a terrifying danger. Using combat records for the first time, a landmark study in the journal Science comes up with a number lower than the onetime estimate of 30 percent but still significant: close to 20 percent.

When five foreign students from Egypt didn't show up for a month-long course at a Montana university, a web-based tracking system went into action. The system had been created in 2001. A manhunt ensued and the missing students were located within a matter of days. It turns out they had come to find jobs, not to study.

It could have been one of his greatest calls -- announcing Barry Bonds' historic 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth on Sunday. But KNBR play-by-play announcer Dave Flemming's microphone went dead at the crucial moment. Flemming discusses the unfortunate interruption.

The jungle and rain forest surrounding the Tiputini Biodiversity Station is still incredibly wild, even by the standards of the Amazon. There are tantalizing hints that it also may be full of insects that talk to each other.

Escalating violence in Gaza has many Palestinians fearful of all-out civil war. The violent power struggle between the rival Fatah and Hamas parties has killed several people and wounded dozens more in the Gaza Strip in the last five days.

The Saudi government has condemned Hezbollah for fomenting the latest round of violence, but many Saudis disagree with their government's position. Saudis vacationing in Zabadani, Syria, weigh in on the latest Mideast crisis and their government's diplomatic position.

Israeli officials say they are prepared to back the deployment of a temporary international force in southern Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. The shift in policy comes amid pressure from European countries and ahead of a visit by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to the region.

An emotional Tiger Woods won the British Open tournament at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Sunday -- his first victory since his father died from cancer in May, and his 11th major title. The win came after Woods missed the cut at the U.S. Open in June.

A roundup of the week's political news, including a Saturday night search at the Capitol Hill office of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA), and a remembrance of former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX).

Back in the 1980s, a public-access TV channel in New York City aired Stairway to Stardom, an amateur talent show some see as a low-rent precursor to American Idol. Thanks to the dedication of a few die-hard fans, the show has now become an Internet cult hit.