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Hem is a Brooklyn, N.Y., band whose ranks occasionally swell from four core members to an 8- or 9-piece ensemble, including pedal steel, glockenspiel and violin. The title of their third studio album, Funnel Cloud, implies dark skies — but it's more of a goodbye kiss to the summer season.

NPR's Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem reports there were sporadic clashes in the West Bank and Gaza today, the day after the Israeli and Palestinian leaders agreed to work toward ending the violence. But in a development that could re-ignite the unrest, Israel Radio reports security forces have arrested some of the Palestinians suspected of taking part in the mob killing of two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah last week.

While many musicians love the Crescent City, few choose to stay after they become successful. The New Orleans-raised Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews comes from a long line of brass-band greats, but is quickly coming into his own with a jazz-funk group — and plans to stay.

The 49ers cornerback ignited a maelstrom when he said gay players had no place on his team. Culliver and team later apologized for the comments.

Reporter Alix Spiegel reports on a growing movement in cities across the country -- Urban Exploration. She accompanies three explorers into an unused New York City subway tunnel. These urban explorers seek out the dark, forbidden and difficult to reach corners of the city -- defunct drainage systems, "no access" hotel roofs, the occasional city hall -- those places least accessible. The explorers describe the places as the frontiers of the urban landscape. The wear dark suits and ties -- "urban camouflage" and share their findings and adventures with other urban explorers via the Internet.

A jury will begin deliberations in the case of former White House aide David Safavian, the first public official to face trial in connection with the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Safavian is accused of covering up his ties to the embattled lobbyist.

Reggie Smith, the self-proclaimed "King of Tubing," has spent the past 23 years perfecting the art of floating down a river on an inner tube. Reporter Melanie Peeples joins Smith to learn some of the finer points of inner tubing.

National security reporter Fred Kaplan's new book is called The Insurgents, but the insurgents of the title are actually American military intellectuals — including Gen. David Petraeus — determined to change the way the Army thinks about counterinsurgency operations.

NPR's Mike Shuster in Jerusalem reports the outburst of violence in the West Bank and Gaza over the past few weeks has shocked many people. It came just two months after the Camp David summit talks where Israel and the Palestinians seemed closer than ever before to a final peace settlement. At Camp David, the fate of Jerusalem's holy places was on the table for the first time in the negotiations. The issue proved traumatic, and a catalyst for violence.

Eddie McCoy is an unlikely historian. He grew up and has lived his whole life in Oxford, North Carolina -- a tobacco town of some 10,000 people. When he was injured in a car accident and couldn’t keep working, he found a tape recorder and started interviewing people. His work is a unique window on small town life in the South.

One day, musicologist John Work happened to record an obscure street singer's blues talent. Discovering that field recording leads commentator Bruce Nemerov to reflect on how the blues were marketed before World War II.

It all started last November, when a relatively small lender, Own-It Mortgage Solutions, defaulted on its loans to JP Morgan Chase. Since then, more than 24 subprime lenders have folded, victims of rising default rates — but also of rising suspicions that the entire subprime market is teetering.