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Orla Guerin of the BBC reports on a United Nations effort to raise money to restore the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

Kristian Foden-Vencil of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that a number of construction workers have filed suit against the US Army and the Raytheon Corporation over an alleged nerve gas leak at a chemical weapons depot in Oregon. Both the Army and Raytheon deny any leak occurred.

Recent Republican conventions have given new visibility to religious conservatives, who were finding a home and a power base as never before in the GOP. The role of religious activists has been far less prominent in Philadelphia this week. But that does not mean the Christian right has disappeared. NPR's Lynn Neary reports.

Robert talks to Jacob Weisberg, Chief Political Correspondent for the on-line magazine Slate, about political advertising throughout the campaign, and the BIGGEST political ad of them all, the four-day convention. This year's GOP convention has been highlighted by music and video and packaged presentations. There's been a look and sound from the stage unlike any other GOP event before, with lots of minorities. And Weisberg notes the inclusion of performers like Brian McKnight, an R&B artist, whose song Monday night seem to baffle a lot of the audience who weren't used to hip-hop at a GOP event. There have also been video presentations of past Republican presidents. Another recurring theme: the live feed of the candidate, George W Bush from the campaign trail every night, making his way to Philadelphia.

According to sources in Chile's Supreme Court, the court has stripped former dictator General Augusto Pinochet of his immunity from prosecution. The verdict still must be signed by all the judges, and formally announced. If he does, in fact, lose his immunity, Pinochet could then be tried for human rights abuses.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that Syria's new president, Bashar Assad, has released 30 political prisoners imprisoned by his father. The prisoner releases have sparked speculation that the new president might prove to be more liberal than his father. But experts say the late Hafez Assad initiated the liberalization and had begun releasing political prisoners before his death earlier this summer.

NPR's Adam Hochberg reports the longest running outdoor drama in the U.S. is undergoing major revisions to attract today's young people. Sex, violence and youth have replaced patriotism and history as major themes for the Lost Colony, which is performed every summer on North Carolina's Outer Banks.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports that a traditional form of Cuban music and dance that is rarely heard on the island is thriving in one part of Mexico. In the streets of the port city of Veracruz, you can often find live danzon concerts, and dozens of couples dancing to the melody. Even young people have fallen in love with the danzon. A local danzon troupe has toured the US, Canada and Europe.

Texas Governor George W. Bush arrived in Philadelphia today to claim his nomination for president from a Republican convention that can hardly wait to offer it. NPR's Steve Inskeep followed the nominee-to-be as he toured the city.

Veteran newsman Robert Trout has the second of two reports about the history of the Republican party, through his own reporting on the last 17 conventions over a period of nearly seventy years. Today, Trout picks up in the late 1940's and early 1950's, and the fight between moderates and conservatives -- between the forces of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Robert A. Taft. Eisenhower won. But the pendulum swung back in the 1960's with the nomination of Barry Goldwater. Ultimately, Trout points out that the struggle between moderate and conservative still marks party proceedings today.