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Venus Williams beats her younger sister Serena at Wimbledon on Saturday. On Sunday, Roger Federer faces Rafael Nadal on the men's singles side. Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated talks about the tournament.

NPR Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr weighs in on the week's news: the rescue of former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt; Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's re-election; Barack Obama's comments about "refining" his Iraq policy; the shake-up in John McCain's camp; and the death of former Sen. Jesse Helms.

June was the deadliest month for U.S. troops since the war in Afghanistan began in 2001. Much of the spike in violence is attributed to a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaida. Richard Clarke, a top counterterrorism adviser, talks about how the United States could reduce the threat from these groups.

Vote Vets on the left and Vets for Freedom on the right are competing to deliver the political message for those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. They're both endorsing candidates for Congress — not the same names, of course — and they debate regularly on talk TV. How effective will they be?

Virunga National Park in Central Africa is located in what has become a war zone. Its trees are being cut down to support a lucrative, militia-controlled charcoal trade. If the destruction continues unchecked, most of the trees in southern Virunga will be gone in a decade.

Learning English in a month, moonlighting for the FBI — the talented participants in the Braille Challenge are used to wowing people with their accomplishments. Figuring out what to wear to dances and how to convince a politically correct world to be a little less nice can be more problematic.

A court has ordered Google to turn over a database that links users to every video they've watched on the popular Web site YouTube. Jennifer Urban, director of the University of Southern California Intellectual Property and Technology Law Clinic, says the ruling has big implications for online privacy.

Jesse Helms' 30-year career in the U.S. Senate was marked by controversy and racial politics. The fierce advocate for segregation and king maker in North Carolina politics died Friday at the age of 86.

The five-term North Carolina senator retired in 2003 but left a legacy of strong conservatism — and controversy — in a state that hadn't seen a GOP senator for decades. He has died at the age of 86.

An icon of the conservative movement, former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms represented North Carolina in Congress for 30 consecutive years. He died Friday at the age of 86.

San Francisco prides itself on being a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. City officials do not cooperate with federal immigration officials. But the policy is under fire after revelations that city officials have shielded illegal immigrant juvenile felons from federal immigration authorities.

The Tour de France begins its 95th cycling race tomorrow in Brittany, France. Co-host Ari Shapiro speaks with Joe Lindsey, a contributing editor for Bicycling Magazine, about the race and its efforts to clean up its image after being plagued by doping scandals.

A meeting of oil producers and consumers has ended in Madrid, with little hope of any reduction in the price of fuel.

A French court ruled this week that eBay must pay Louis Vuitton more than $60 million in damages for allowing fake goods to be sold through its site. Co-host Ari Shapiro talks with Chris Sprigman, a professor of intellectual property law at the University of Virginia, about the implications of the ruling.

The city of Atlanta is getting a new monument Friday. The $18 million "Millenium Gate" looks a bit like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, sandwiched between skyscrapers, retail stores and apartments. Atlanta native Rodney Cook hopes it gives the city a new icon. But local residents have mixed views.

The U.S. military touts the relative security of Anbar — once one of the most restive areas in Iraq — after working with tribal sheiks to combat al-Qaida. But the rise of the sheiks has set off a new political conflict, and tensions still simmer beneath the surface.

The three American military contractors who were among the 15 hostages rescued from Colombian leftist rebels have returned home safe. The rescue operation was assisted by quick thinking, acting skills and Che Guevara T-shirts.

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is clarifying how his upcoming trip to Iraq might affect his war policy. Obama still believes U.S. combat troops should be out within 16 months of his taking office. But he says he would be more specific about how that would happen when he returns from Iraq.

Young Indians have their own reasons to celebrate a 19th century shrine to national independence.

A series of supply and production problems in China have caused cities across the U.S. to curtail or completely cut their fireworks shows this Fourth of July. The problems have even affected commercial sales, driving prices sky-high.

Trade and immigration top Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's visit to Mexico. The two issues also dominated his trip to Colombia. McCain says he'll seek Mexico's help to tackle illegal immigration. He used the trip to tout free trade.

Barack Obama says he's open to refining his Iraq policy. The Democrat says he'll use what he learns from military commanders on his upcoming trip to Iraq to tweak his position. He dismissed GOP accusations that he was reversing his position.

Three Americans rescued Wednesday in Colombia from FARC rebels have returned to the United States. Five years ago, their plane was shot down over FARC-held territory. One of them met with family members. The other two were expected to do the same.

Big Sur is surrounded by flames and more than 1,000 wildfires are burning across California. The state's firefighting resources are being pushed to the limit. Many fires may burn for over a month. The 61,000-acre blaze has burned at least 16 homes.

State and federal agents are investigating the death of a Maryland man in his cell two days after he was arrested and charged with killing a county police officer. But their efforts have been slowed by a lack of cooperation from prison officials.

It used to be a kids' prank, but manhole cover theft has become an expensive problem for cities such as Long Beach, Calif. Each lid weighs more than 200 pounds, but thieves anxious to capitalize upon the rising cost of scrap metal aren't deterred.

The Colombian military has rescued hostages from left-wing FARC rebels. Marc Chernick, associate professor at Georgetown University, says though the rebels have been weakened, they can continue fighting the military for a long time.

A new style of landing called "continuous descent" involves the plane flying straight. Alex Kingsbury, a reporter with U.S. News and World Report, says delivery firm UPS has saved 50 gallons of jet fuel per landing by using the system on its planes.

Colombia told the U.S. about the raid to rescue hostages from FARC rebels two weeks ago, Pentagon sources say. The U.S. was asked to provide help in the form of surveillance aircraft to eavesdrop on rebels. No Americans were on the ground.

The U.S. economy lost jobs for the sixth straight month in June. The Labor Department says employers cut 62,000 jobs from their payrolls. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.5 percent. The data were in line with economists' expectations.

California firefighters are battling hundreds of fires across the state and resources are stretched very thin. So property owners in threatened areas have taken matters into their own hands.

The atmosphere at La Kabbr, the only Iraqi restaurant in the Big Apple, is often like an Iraqi house party, with people dancing, sipping chai, sharing plates and passing hookah pipes. On many Saturday nights, Iraqis longing for a taste of home fill the Hell's Kitchen hotspot.

After a seven-year absence, author Ethan Canin returns with America America, a novel that explores power and influence in politics past.

Fifteen hostages, including former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and three Americans who were held for years by Colombian rebels, are now free. John Otis, South American bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle, explains details of the rescue.

The U.S. Olympic swimming trials are going on in Omaha, Neb., where records have already been broken. USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan talks about the events and Michael Phelps, who is midway through his quest to qualify for an astonishing number of events.

The Colombian military on Wednesday freed 15 people held by the FARC rebel group. The hostages include Ingrid Betancourt, who was running for president when the FARC kidnapped her six years ago, and three American military contractors. Carolina Barco Isakson, Colombia's ambassador to the U.S., talks about the rescue operation.

Some 62,000 jobs were cut from company payrolls in June, and the number of laid-off workers seeking benefits also rose sharply last week. The figures are further signs of a slowing U.S. economy.

George Washington slept there for years — it's the Virginia house he grew up in. Archaeologists have excavated the house, or what's left of it, and they say they've found artifacts that suggest that the Washingtons started out genteel but fell on hard times.

The captivity of more than a dozen hostages ended Wednesday in an elaborate rescue operation in the Colombian jungle. It's one of a series of blows this year for FARC, the rebel group that had nabbed the 15 hostages.