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Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States, but only 5 percent of all Hispanics attend a mainline Protestant church. The vast majority are Roman Catholic.

For the Episcopal Church, those numbers are an opportunity.

The denomination is seeing fast-growing pockets of new Latino congregants. Episcopal churches in Nevada and Washington, D.C., are seeing considerably higher attendance from Latinos. In Oregon, there were only 150 Latino Episcopalians 20 years ago. Now, there are more than 800.

Today in Washington, D.C. we got our first taste of fall. It was crisp and in the low 60s. And just as we slide into the last days of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published its summer 2012 recap.

It's exactly what you were expecting: It was really hot. In fact, 2012 was the third hottest on record.

NOAA reports:

It's human nature to hope for positive results after spending months or even years conducting a research study. In well-designed studies, however, scientists identify in advance the criteria for success, so their optimism won't color their conclusions when the study is completed.

Many times what happens far away ends up coded in numbers and officialdom.

Like this weekend, a blast near NATO headquarters in Afghanistan killed at least six. NPR's Dana Farrington noted that a suicide bomber blew himself up near the entrance of Camp Eggers, where many children who work on the streets set up to sell trinkets.

Today, we get the heartbreaking news that six of the dead were children and four of them were part of the Skateistan program.

Mitt Romney seemed to make health care news in a Sunday interview on NBC's Meet the Press.

He said he might not want to repeal all of the Affordable Care Act.

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The mayor of New Jersey's capital city faces corruption charges that could send him to prison for decades. The FBI arrested Tony Mack in Trenton today. Prosecutors accused the mayor, his brother and a top political supporter of an extortion scheme worth more than $100,000. Here's NPR's justice correspondent Carrie Johnson.

Around the country there are moves to tighten restrictions on voters at the polls, some of which fall under the purview of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Melissa Block takes a step back with voting and election law expert Nate Persily of Columbia University, to talk about the Voting Rights Act, and in particular Section 5. That provision, originally aimed at states in the South, requires certain states, counties and townships to get "pre-clearance" from the federal government before changing laws that affect voters.

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Why do children and teens become overweight? The answer to that question is not as straightforward as counting calories. NPR's Allison Aubrey has this story about a study published today in the journal Pediatrics. It suggests that the eating habits of overweight teens are not all that different from their healthy-weight peers.

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Relentless fundraising efforts paid off last month for President Obama and Mitt Romney. Their campaign said today they each took in more than $110 million.

NPR's Peter Overby has details.

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The debate over same-sex marriage has collided with the world of professional football in a loud and public way. Let's roll back. It started with Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, who's a vocal supporter of legalizing same-sex marriage, an issue on the Maryland ballot this November.

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For more on this and for a sense of how and why the school situation in Chicago affects the ongoing conversation about education policy across the country, we have Stephen Sawchuk. He's the assistant editor for Education Week. He joins us from Chicago. Welcome, Stephen.

STEPHEN SAWCHUK: Hi, Audie. Thanks so much for having me.

CORNISH: So, first, give us a sense of where Chicago school district fits in the national picture these days. I mean, how does Chicago schools compare with those in other big cities?

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In Chicago today, teachers walked picket lines at more than 600 schools. It's the city's first teacher strike in 25 years. Over the weekend, negotiators failed to reach agreement on a contract. They're back at the bargaining table today in hopes of sending 350,000 students back to school before the public's patience wears thin.

From member station WBEZ in Chicago, Becky Vevea has the story.