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As WAMU's Carmel Delshad discovered at the International Tree Climbing Championship, climbing trees can take skill, strength and a passion for nature.

The Fed has announced it will raise interest rates a quarter percentage point, the latest sign of the growing strength of the U.S. economy.

Hurricane Jeanne, leaving a devastated Haiti in its wake, could hit Florida's Atlantic coast by Sunday. And Hurricane Ivan, which tore through Alabama and the Florida Panhandle last week, has doubled back and is gathering strength again in the Gulf of Mexico. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and Dan Brown of the National Hurricane Center.

John Mayer has sold millions of CDs with his sensitive, wistful songs. Music critic Tom Moon has been listening to Mayer's new album, Continuum. He says Mayer is growing as an artist, his songs are better and he is utilizing one of his strengths, in playing guitar.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announces he will start withdrawing the country's 3,000 troops from Iraq starting in September. Many read the move as a sign that his loyalty to the Bush administration is starting to erode his domestic political strength. Italy's announcement follows the decision of three other countries to pull troops out.

Sen. John Edwards offers strong praise for Sen. John Kerry, hailing him as a battle-tested leader with the strength and vision to lead America. Laying out his party's domestic agenda, Edwards promises middle-class America "hope is on the way."

Hurricane Ivan, the worst storm to hit the Caribbean in a decade, spares Jamaica the brunt of its force. But the storm is gaining strength as it heads for the Cayman Islands and Cuba. It could make landfall in Florida early next week. Hear NPR's Jennifer Ludden and Jamaican broadcaster Dervan Malcom.

Recent fighting between Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas has left Gaza and the West Bank divided. Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian journalist and director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Jerusalem, discusses how Hamas and Fatah became rivals, and why Hamas is strong in Gaza versus Fatah's strength in the West Bank.

Last week, school officials in Portland, Maine, voted to allow the distribution of prescription-strength birth control pills to middle-school students. Lori Gramlich, a member of the Portland School Committee, discusses the decision and the controversy it has sparked.

The powerful Category 3 storm is restrengthening as it moves northwest, but currently poses no immediate threat to people on land, according to the National Hurricane Center.