National

The drought this summer has impacted entries at state fairs across the country. Cattle, hogs, vegetables and more all are coming in much smaller and lighter because of the dry conditions. Melissa Block talks with Don Young, who submitted a much smaller pumpkin than normal to be judged at the Iowa State Fair.

You've all heard a lot about this year's devastating drought in the Midwest, right? The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last Friday that the average U.S. cornfield this year will yield less per acre than it has since 1995. Soybean yields are down, too.

After months of sitting on their wallets, Americans went shopping in July. The uptick reported Tuesday is boosting economists' hopes for a reasonably strong back-to-school season. And retailers are looking for clues about how the holiday shopping season will turn out later in the year.

"This is a good report," Chris Christopher, an economist with IHS Global Insight, a forecasting firm, wrote in an assessment of the latest report. "It indicates that consumers came back after hunkering down" during the year's first half when sales were "dismal."

Army Reserve officer Tammy Smith was promoted to the position of Brigadier General on August 10, 2012. In doing so, she became the first gay general to serve openly in the U.S. military.

"I'm just so thrilled that I'm able at this point to present Tracy as my family," she tells NPR's Lynn Neary. "We're indeed a military family."

Gen. Smith talks about her career in the military and the significance of her recent promotion.

In tandem bicycle lingo, the captain is in the front, the stoker in the back.

The San Diego-based Blind Stokers Club, founded by Dave White, pairs sighted captains with blind stokers on high performance tandem bikes. As part of a year-round cycling program, members train for Cycling for Sight, a three-day, 200-mile event that benefits the San Diego Center for the Blind.

If you've been applauding yourself recently for choosing the apple slices over the french fries for your kid's fast food meal, or an apple-laden prepackaged salad for your own dinner, you might want to hit the pause button.

Chicago's Dixon School looks more like an African-American art gallery than a public school. In the largely black blue-collar neighborhood of Chatham, a school where art plays a central role in the lives of students is a rarity. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with director Pamela Sherrod Anderson about her documentary, The Curators of Dixon School.

July saw the largest retail sales increase in months, according to the Commerce Department. But not all the news is rosy. NPR Senior Business Editor Marilyn Geewax joins guest host Jacki Lyden to take a look at consumer spending and the "back to school" season.

Farmers and ranchers continue to suffer from one of the country's worst droughts in 50 years. President Obama recently announced the government will buy up to $170 million of meat from farmers. But some say it's too little too late. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with Virginia farmer John Boyd and Harvest Public Media reporter Peggy Lowe.