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Here are two absolutes about politics in Kentucky: The state is reliably Republican, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is a political heavyweight in his home state. Tuesday, he made only his second appearance at a Tea Party event. Since some of McConnell's hand-picked candidates have been beaten easily in recent elections, he's reaching out to his entire party. Phillip Bailey reports from member station WFPL in Louisville.

Ra'ed was 19 when he was drafted into Syria's elite Republican Guard unit two years ago. The Sunni Muslim conscript says his commanders, who were Alawites, never trusted him. He was asked to pose as a defector, and ultimately he joined their cause. Now in Lebanon, he fears being returned home, where he believes he would be killed.

The Hall of Fallen American Heroes is long and wide. There is a portrait of Bill Clinton. Over there is a sculpture of Tiger Woods. Toppled from that pedestal is Gary Hart. Watch out for the broken busts of John Edwards, Richard Nixon, Pete Rose, Mark McGwire and many, many others. Should the curators now make room for Armstrong?

Saturday is Bastille Day, and the Tour de France is underway. Nearly 200 cyclists have just finished a grueling three-day stretch in the mountains and are headed down to the southern coast. Host Scott Simon talks about the race and its so-called doping era with reporter Joe Lindsey of Bicycling Magazine.

The race continues to heat up, with Republican National Convention ads using President Obama's promise of "change" against him and continued calls for Mitt Romney to release his pre-2010 tax returns to the public. Host Guy Raz speaks with James Fallows of The Atlantic.

Pundits fretted that the town hall format for Tuesday's presidential exchange would yield tepid results: undecided voters posing questions with little more than a passing touch from the moderator. The media's storyline quickly shifted, however, from the pressure facing the president after the previous debate to his more energetic performance.

Steve Inskeep speaks with Tom Ricks, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security and contributing editor to Foreign Policy magazine, about the presidential candidates' foreign policy plans.

A company claims to have created a "fit beer" that can help replenish the body after a workout. We turned to science to see if beer and exercise can really go hand-in-hand. The answer? Yes – and no.

After an ambulance brings a confused 73-year-old man to the emergency room, a doctor has to piece together his medical condition from a few tests and his unreliable answers to her questions.

The Seattle Seahawks dominated the Super Bowl, but for some people, the ads stole the show. Host Michel Martin speaks with NPR TV critic Eric Deggans to find out which commercials hit the mark, and which fell short.