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NPR's Julie Rovner reports on what voters are hearing -- and not hearing -- from Democrats and Republicans about their effort to add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare. Neither party plans come close to lifting the financial burden felt by Medicare recipients with high drug costs because a real solution would cost a fortune.

NPR's Scott Horsley reports that the shortage of electricity will be the top priority for California legislators who reconvene today. Across the state, the high demand for power has caused the electric bills to soar. And with no relief in sight, consumers are demanding the legislature steps in to regulate prices.

NPR's Steve Krueger reports on an outdoor equipment company that hopes to capture the international market through its rapidly growing online store.

NPR's David Welna reports that United Airlines is canceling two thousand flights in September. United says a continuing contract dispute between the airline and its pilots is contributing to the cancellations. But the pilots disagree, and say passengers should blame United Airlines management because it failed to prepare for the summer flight schedule.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Ajaccio, the capital of Corsica, on France's offer to give the island limited legislative powers. For the last 30 years, France has unsuccessfully tried to appease Corsican separatists.

Host Howard Berkes talks with Genevieve Abdo a reporter from The Guardian about the recent crack-down on journalists in Iran. Recently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told the Iranian parliament the current laws limiting what journalists can write about should go unchanged.

Commentator Reynolds Price muses on the reasons why the vivid ease and eloquence of letter writing has all but died out. He bemoans the loss of an irreplaceable source of history, expression and human encounter. He cites the lasting gift of a vivid letter from his grade school teacher about her first migraine.

Commentator Carol Wasserman contemplates the realities of aging while floating like "a bed of kelp" off the beach in Massachusetts.

Up to 40 percent of inmates in US prisons are infected with Hepatitis C, a blood-borne virus that can cause fatal liver disease. Because treatment is expensive and often does not work, most prison systems are choosing to do little or nothing about the problem. Christine Arrasmith from member station KPLU in Seattle reports.

Noah talks with John Brumgardt, Director of the Charleston Museum in South Carolina, about the raising of the wreckage of the H.L Hunley, a Confederate submarine. The H.L. Hunley is said to be the first sub in the world to sink an enemy warship. Brumgardt talks about how the wreck was pulled out of the water, and the plans to restore it for display at the Charleston Museum.

Sixty-six large fires are burning in the western United States today. This is being called the worst fire season in fifty years. NPR's Aaron Schachter reports on the financial cost of this year's firefighting.

Host Howard Berkes talks to NPR White House Correspondent Mara Liasson about the White House reaction to Vice President Al Gore's selection of Joseph Lieberman as his running mate.