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The first all-civilian space mission into orbit is expected to take flight from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday evening. Private company SpaceX is running the mission — not NASA.

Commentator Judith Fein works with juvenile prisoners. She describes "snapping," a term they use when they realize the consequences of their actions and are then ready to change.

NPR's Larry Abramson reports on Congress's struggle with a couple of communications issues: whether to require cable systems to open their lines to outside Internet providers, and whether local phone companies will be allowed to offer long distance data transfer. These issues are becoming a major target for industry lobbyists on all sides of the issue, and the result has been a stalemate as to the best way to speed deployment of hi-speed Internet access.

Maryanne Zeleznik of member station WNKU reports that jailers in Kentucky can now charge inmates up to $50 per night plus administrative fees for their stay in the county jail. Supporters say the income will take some of tax burden off law-abiding citizens and hope that the additional penalty will act as a deterrent to potential law-breakers. Opponents believe that the additional financial burden could lead former inmates back to a life of crime to pay for their jail time.

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.

Alan Cheuse reviews Eater, a new novel by Gregory Benford, a physics professor at the University of California's Irvine campus. Benford is one of the country's most prolific and successful writers of science-fiction. (2:00) Eater, by Gregory Benford is published by Avon.

NPR's Tovia Smith reports on the ruling by a federal appeals court that upholds most of Massachusetts' restrictions on tobacco advertising. The court ruled that the restrictions do not violate the First Amendment.

NPR's Debbie Elliott looks at what comes next in the Florida smokers lawsuit, now that the jury has returned a $145 billion dollar judgement against the tobacco industry. Lawyers for the tobacco companies and the plaintiff's attorney have differing views on how the case should proceed next. Since this case is so unusual, there's no blueprint for how to move forward.

Inflation remained in check last month as consumer prices rose at the same pace as in five of the past six months. As NPR's Jack Speer reports, core prices rose just two-tenths of a percent last month, when food and energy prices are NOT taken into account. Even though gas prices escalated sharply in June, many economists see inflation remaining tame and believe the Federal Reserve is successfully engineering a "soft landing" for the booming economy.

NPR's Wendy Schmelzer reports that even young men need to worry about their cholesterol levels. A study in this week's Journal of The American Medical Association finds that men who had high cholesterol in their 20s and 30s were more than twice as likely to die from heart disease later in life.