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German footwear company Adidas-Salomon says it is acquiring rival Reebok for $3.8 billion. The deal more than doubles Adidas's sales in North America. It also brings together a global lineup of celebrity endorsers, including Allen Iverson of Reebok and David Beckham, an Adidas man.

New data suggests charter school students are lagging behind their peers at public schools. That deals a blow to President Bush's education reforms, which offer charter schools as an alternative to "failing" public schools. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep, Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute and Jack Jennings of the Center on Education Policy.

The U.S. military in Najaf gears up for a major assault on insurgents loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. U.S. forces say they intend to enter Najaf's old city, site of the shrine of the Imam Ali, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam. Hear NPR's Noah Adams and Alex Berenson of The New York Times.

The day the United States handed over sovereignty to Iraq's interim government, an Oregon National Guardsman witnessed Iraqi soldiers beating Iraqi prisoners. He and other guardsmen intervened, but were later ordered to return the prisoners to their Iraqi captors and walk away. NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with Mike Francis, who reports on the incident in The Oregonian.

Google reduces the amount of stock it will sell and lowers the price range of its initial public offering. The Internet search company will sell 5.5 million shares at $85 a share. The move came on the same day that the Securities and Exchange Committee approved Google's plan to sell stock in an auction process. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and Raymond Hennessy of The Wall Street Journal.

Richard Holbrooke, foreign policy adviser to John Kerry's presidential campaign, says President Bush's plan to shift 70,000 U.S. military personnel from Europe and Asia will weaken America's already strained ties with its European allies and will add to the cost of maintaining U.S. troops. Holbrooke speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

As an impasse continues at the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf, the leading Shiite cleric in Iraq -- Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani -- prepares to lead a mass march on the city Thursday. He's seeking an end to fighting between U.S. and Iraqi forces and militia loyal to cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

A soft, breezy summer record, Tudo lives up to Gilberto's status as a member of Brazilian musical royalty. It strikes the perfect mix of chill and melancholy that's become her specialty.

The languid alt-country tune gives a reminder about how to stay afloat through life's uncertainty.

Sister and brother Maggie and Tyler Heath blend joy and pain in ways that ring true.