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The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics are just over a month away — leading NPR and other media to cover the intense preparations for the games. That also means the Paralympic Games are up next, as athletes with disabilities round into top form for the Aug. 29 opening day.

2: Biographer DEIRDRE BAIR (pronounced "Bear") has written acclaimed biographies of Samuel Beckett (which won the 1981 National Book Award) and Simone de Beauvoir (listed as one of the top ten books of 1990 by The New York Times). BAIR's newest subject is writer and diarist Anais Nin. A reviewer in the Kirkus Reviews writes, "Bair's Nin emerges as the complex woman she was, a woman who inspired both wrath and passion in those whose paths crossed hers." Anais Nin: A Biography (published by G.P. Putnam).

ONCE WERE WARRIORS director LEE TAMAHORI (TOM-a-hore-ee) and it's star RENA(Rain-a) OWEN. This critically acclaimed new film takes a front-line look at an urban Maori(MOW-er-ee) family plagued by poverty, violence and alcoholism. The movie recently became the top grossing film in New Zealand history

The audience numbers aren't out yet, but viewership for the very last episode of AMC's Breaking Bad was expected to top 8 million Sunday night. Thirty second ad slots reportedly sold for $250,000, and a promise to buy more ads on other shows.

Fresh Air's resident rock historian remembers soul singer Lorraine Ellison, who recorded a handful of albums and dozens of singles in the '60s and '70s; though she charted a few R&B hits, she never quite broke through to stardom. Her biggest success was with the string-saturated ballad "Stay With Me," which topped out at No. 11 on the R&B charts and has since been covered by everyone from Bette Midler to teenybopper idol Rex Smith.

Christopher O'Riley, host of NPR's From the Top, considers Elliott Smith to be one America's greatest songwriters. Smith died in 2003 before ever achieving massive fame. O'Riley's latest release, Home to Oblivion, is a classical translation of Smith's work.

The investigation, prompted by the discovery of top-secret papers found at Mar-a-Lago, is at an early stage, a source told NPR.

President Bush's top getaway, his ranch in Crawford, Texas, is also the place where Laura Bush seems to find the most solace. NPR's Ketzel Levine gets a rare tour of the ranch with the first lady, who discusses her efforts to restore native grasses and plants to the 1,600-acre property. See photos of wildflowers at the Bush ranch.

Oklahoma ranks in the top five states for babies born with syphilis, but that could change soon, after the governor signed a bill that will require more frequent screenings for pregnant patients.

Folk artist Mose Tolliver's subjects were nature, people and animals. His medium was house paint. His canvasses were cabinet doors and discarded table tops. His paintings put him at the forefront of the Outsider Art movement.