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NPR's Eric Weiner reports from Sydney, Australia as the track and field competition gets underway. All eyes are on Marion Jones. Today she began her quest for five gold medals with a leisurely win in 11.20 seconds in her first-round heat.

Steve Tripoli of member station WBUR reports that the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston suggests that African Americans seek help from their churches when they are rebuilding the local economies.

Immigration officials have cleared the way for nine Cubans to seek residency in the U.S. The refugees survived a plane crash in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this week. NPR's Philip Davis reports this has angered Cuban officials, who say the refugees stole the state owned plane, and they should be returned to Cuba.

BBC's Adam Brimelow reports that today a British court will rule on whether doctors can separate six-week old Siamese twins in an operation in which one will die.

Watching the Olympic games in Sydney, Commentator James Finn Garner yearns for the days when the U.S. had a rival to reckon with.

NPR's Brian Naylor reports that the House and Senate are far apart on a strategy for completing the spending bills required before the new fiscal year begins on October 1st. There are divisions between House and Senate Republicans. The possibility is being raised of holding a lame duck session after the election.

With the presidential election up for grabs in many big states, the candidates and their supporters are flooding the airwaves with political commercials designed to rev up their supporters and convert the undecided. The ad war is particularly fierce in several Midwestern states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Missouri. NPR's Steve Inskeep spent much of this week watching television in suburban St. Louis to get a flavor of what voters there are seeing each day.

Jon Miller reports from Lima that concern over the country's political crisis has abated somewhat now that the military has issued a statement. In the communiqui, the leaders of the armed forces said they still support the government of President Alberto Fujimori. The crisis was precipitated by release of a videotape showing Fujimori's intelligence chief handing a wad of money to an opposition member of Congress. In response to the bribery scandal, Fujimori has announced plans to step down and call for new elections. He also has announced the de-activation of the intelligence service.

NPR's Tom Goldman visited several families with children involved heavily in elite youth sports. The kids' schedules are demanding -- often taking them out of state for tournaments. And the costs involved, including fees, private coaching and equipment, can take a toll on the family budget. But these parents told Goldman that immersing themselves in the sport along with their children is rewarding.

NPR's Michael Sullivan reports from Katmandu that an undeclared war in the south Asian mountain kingdom of Nepal has killed at least two-thousand people since it began four years ago. People there have become disillusioned by the country's transition to a constitutional monarchy, a change they had thought would result in a higher living standard in one of the world's poorest countries. Maoist rebels have found growing support among disgruntled civilians, although the government says civilians are coerced into helping the rebels. The government has earmarked millions of dollars for a paramilitary police force to take on the rebels. But analysts say what's really needed is good government and a serious plan to address economic problems.