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"There has been renewed fighting in Syria ahead of a U.N. General Assembly vote condemning its own Security Council for failing to end the unrest," the BBC writes. "The army has been shelling rebel positions in the largest city, Aleppo. There was also bloodshed in Hama and the capital, Damascus."

According to al-Jazeera:

This month we are collecting your stories about the good things Americans are doing to make their community a better place. Some of your contributions will become blog posts and the project will end with a story that weaves together submissions to make a story of Americans by Americans for Americans.

Update at 8:45 a.m. ET. Report Has Better Than Expected News:

"163,000 Jobs Added In July; Unemployment Rate Rose To 8.3 Percent"

Our original post:

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne, with a lesson on how to keep calm, sleep in and carry on.

Twenty-one-year-old Jack Oliver went to bed ready to represent Great Britain at the Olympics. That was until the weightlifter overslept by an hour on his big day. He was roused by his coach and got dressed in 30 seconds, he says, and still managed two personal bests, grabbing a fourth place finish. The sleep did me good, he said. I had less time to think about the competition.

The London Olympics have produced lots of fascinating moments in its early days. Records have been shattered, rules have been broken. And it's only the first week. NPR's Mike Pesca has been covering the games and joins Steve Inskeep.

We'll see where the count stands after another day of competition at the London Olympics but after Thursday, the United States is at the top with the most medals. Renee Montagne has results of Thursday night's Olympics competition.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now, maybe this is going to sound crazy, but the 1990 version of "Total Recall" took Arnold Schwarzenegger to Mars.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "TOTAL RECALL")

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (as Character) Welcome to the Mars Federal Colony.

INSKEEP: This weekend, by the way, NASA's rover Curiosity is heading to Mars for real. It launched at the end of last year and is set to land on Mars just after 1 a.m. Eastern time on Monday.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: