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A classical scholar with a voracious appetite for high and low culture alike, he's dauntingly smart — but far too interested in why we love what we love to be a snob. Jacki Lyden talks to Mendelsohn about his new essay collection.

NPR has learned that the Bush administration is pushing for increased military action along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The plan is part of an effort to kill or capture Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaida leaders by the time the president leaves office.

Hurricane Ike is storming toward the Gulf Coast of Texas — home to a quarter of the nation's oil refining capacity. As refineries shut down in anticipation of the storm, wholesale gasoline prices have shot up, despite crude oil prices falling to their lowest level in more than five months.

The surge in Iraq is one of the issues that divides the presidential candidates, but Bob Woodward's new book, The War Within, reveals that it also divided the Bush administration and the military.

Financial markets around the world reacted favorably to the U.S. government's plan to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In the United States, the move sent interest rates down, raising hopes in the real estate industry that prospective buyers may be ready to enter the housing market.

The government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sent mortgage rates plunging on Monday. Some bond investors say this is a positive first sign. But the future of these two mortgage financing giants depends on what happens when a new administration takes over in Washington.

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick accepted a plea agreement, stepped down from office and will serve jail time. He pleaded guilty to two felony obstruction charges stemming from a scandal involving a cover-up of an alleged affair with his former top aide.

Pakistan says U.S.-led forces crossed into its territory and launched an attack that killed at least 15 people. The target of the attack was a village in South Waziristan, which is a tribal area used as a base by the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Houma is one of the coastal Louisiana town that sustained damage during Hurricane Gustav. There, power lines and utility poles are down everywhere and trees are blocking most roads — but the good news is, there is little flooding.

In New Orleans, there is a sense of relief that Hurricane Gustav didn't roar ashore as hard as it could have. The city avoided a direct hit, and its improved levee system has held.