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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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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.

Mitt Romney campaigned Thursday in Colorado, the first domestic appearances since returning from his trip to Europe and the Middle East. He huddled with Republican governors who heaped praise on him in Aspen, where he also held a fundraiser. And, NPR's Brian Naylor reports, he addressed a rally in a Denver suburb.

RBS, the Royal Bank of Scotland, is already in a tough spot. It's among several banks being investigated for allegedly rigging the interbank lending rate known as LIBOR. As Steve Inskeep reports, Friday it warned that it faced several potential lawsuits over those allegations.

Kofi Annan will step down at the end of the month from his post as UN-Arab League envoy for Syria. Annan's resignation is the latest blow to the faltering efforts to find a solution to the crisis in Syria. Steve Inskeep talks about the implications with Robert Malley of the International Crisis Group.

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Look for a review of the new science fiction epic "Total Recall" and you'll see headlines ready Total Makeover. You might recall the 1990 original starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. With our review of the remake, here's Kenneth Turan.