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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The writer Ta-Nehisi Coates says he noticed something about one of this year's major news stories. When Trayvon Martin, a black teenager, was killed by a white man in Florida, there was widespread dismay. And then President Obama spoke.

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Certain forms of art are performed in private. The painter is alone when he paints, the writer likewise.

But the most pertinent aspect of the performing arts is that they are watched. Dance, music, drama and sport are most challenging — and most thrilling — precisely because they are real, before our eyes.

Mitt Romney's speech to the Republican National Convention on Thursday will be his chance to tell his story to the world. Perhaps the most unique part of that story is his devout Mormon faith.

Romney comes from a prominent Mormon family. He's held important leadership positions in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But he rarely talks about his faith. When he does, he seems uncomfortable.

When women go on a diet, we tend to avoid our favorite restaurants because they are filled with temptations — bread, booze and desserts. But are we doomed to sit in our kitchens eating salad alone while everyone else is headed out on the town if we want to keep the weight off?

Take heart, ladies. A new study of women in their 50s and early 60s finds they could eat out and still succeed at long-term weight loss.

Okay, so Bic has been taking a lot of flack for selling this pen "for her." (As it says on its web site, it is "a ball pen essentially for women," although that seems to invite a caveat, such as, "although there may be certain men to whom it appeals and we don't judge.")

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Police say Fernando Santana Eagleheart was watching a movie in Sparks, Nev., when he dropped his gun and it fired. According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, Eagleheart apologized to the crowd in the theater as he left. Nobody was hurt except Eagleheart. He faces a misdemeanor charge for firing the gun.

Besse Cooper, the world's oldest living person, turned 116 over the weekend. For her birthday, Walton County, Ga., named a bridge after her. Over at Facebook headquarters, tech savvy Florence Detlor was honored by Mark Zuckerberg. At 101, Detlor is recognized as the social network's oldest registered user.

Clearwater, Fla., is in the swing county of Pinellas. That county went to George W. Bush in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008. Now it's up for grabs. Steve Inskeep talks to Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos about voters' concerns there.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene.

Residents of New Orleans and other cities are performing the balancing act that is an essential part of life along the Gulf Coast. Hurricanes are such a regular feature that you can't let them disrupt your life too much.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Good morning.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And we have some news to report from Israel this morning. A court has absolved the Israeli military of all responsibility for the 2003 death of a young American protestor on the Gaza/Egypt border.

Sheera Frenkel has this report from Haifa.

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NPR's business news starts with an eye on oil prices.

Isaac is not expected to grow beyond a Category 1 hurricane and that is easing some concerns it could damage oil and gas refineries along the Gulf Coast. Still, several have shut down operations and will probably be offline for a couple days. Depending on Isaac's severity, analysts say gas prices could go up by about 10 cents or so in the coming weeks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

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OK. Microsoft had to know there would be critics when it released its new logo late last week. And today's last word in business is: mixed reviews.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Microsoft used the old logo for 25 years. The tech world has certainly changed a lot since then. PCs, not iPads, where the big thing then and Microsoft dominated the software for them. Now, Microsoft says it's time to change its look.