NPR News

A power struggle on the Louisiana Supreme Court is headed to federal court this week. Lawyers are seeking to reopen an old voting rights case that gave the Deep South state its first black Supreme Court justice. What's at stake in the racially charged fight is whether Louisiana will now have its first African-American chief justice.

Voices echo in what once was a bustling women's fitness center in suburban Cairo. The two-story facility is full of modern equipment, but it's covered with a thin layer of dust.

Sally Salema, 28, opened the gym in 2008 because she wanted a place to exercise without having to worry about men seeing her with her veil off.

The facility included a kids' area and nursery, Salema says, so that mothers could bring their children. There's also a cafe, several classrooms and even a massage room that still smells faintly of lavender.

Amy Goldman is best known as the author of lavish books about heirloom tomatoes, squash and melons. Now Goldman is trying to cultivate a second term for President Obama.

Goldman wrote a check for $1 million to a pro-Obama superPAC — and gave another million to the political arm of Planned Parenthood.

It's time to extinguish The Torch, and end NPR's three-week marathon of Olympic coverage. From the London Games' opening ceremony through 302 medal events, these Summer Olympics have fed fans a rich diet of history and spectacle. I only wish I'd been able to eat it all — but part of the Olympics' allure is that its smorgasbord is over-stuffed with intense competition.

With Rep. Paul Ryan officially in the mix as Mitt Romney's vice presidential pick, the 2012 race for the White House was fully engaged Monday, as all four members of the two major-party presidential tickets campaigned in swing states.

Both President Obama and Ryan were in Iowa, while Romney, the all-but-official Republican nominee, campaigned in Florida. Meanwhile, Vice President Biden was in North Carolina, hitting a state the Republican ticket visited over the weekend.

Most documents, including the affidavits of probable cause, will remain sealed in the case of the Aurora, Colo. theater shooting, a judge decided today.

Chief Judge William Sylvester also reaffirmed a gag order that prohibits the parties in the case from talking about it.

Chicago DJ Mary Nisi is no stranger to the art of the playlist. As president of the wedding DJ company Toast & Jam, she builds them regularly for receptions of all kinds.

It's nearly time to extinguish The Torch, and end NPR's little marathon of Olympic coverage. Before we do, we must note that the games have now become the most-watched television event in U.S. history, with a total of 219.4 viewers over 17 days of coverage.

Those high ratings push the London Games past Beijing 2008, which held the previous record of 215 million viewers. The number seems to include only NBC's TV audience, not mobile or online.

Google will buy the Frommer's travel guide from John Wiley & Sons, Inc., the publishing company announced Monday.

Two years ago, Republican Linda McMahon ran for an open U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut, spent $50 million of her own money in the process, and lost.

In an otherwise Republican year, the former top executive at World Wrestling Entertainment was easily beaten by Democrat Richard Blumenthal.

Now, McMahon is trying again — running for the seat of outgoing Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent.