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- Daniel talks with Robert Dintleman, an electrical power executive in Salt Lake City, about the massive power outage early Sunday that disrupted electricity to at least eighty western states. Dintleman says the exact cause of the outage is not clear, but it appears it was a case of too much demand because of soaring temperatures.

Commentator Lenore Skenazy (skuh-NAY-zee) wonders why so many "educational" kids books and songs are concerned with farm animals and the sounds they make. If your kid is being raised on the 18th floor of a New York City apartment building, what's the relevance of knowing what sound a cow makes?

From Member Station WBNI, Kristen Durst reports Fort Wayne, Indiana is hiding an architectural treasure. A house designed by renowned architect Michael Graves lies outside the city in a state of dilapidation. Yet there is little hope it will ever recapture the grandeur its designer intended.

From WNYC, Beth Fertig reports on New York City's efforts to break up large, low-achieving schools into smaller units. Educators say that smaller schools allow more interaction between educators and students.

NPR's Melissa Block reports on the Justice Department's decision *not* to pursue federal civil rights charges against four New York City police officers who killed immigrant Amadou Diallo two years ago. Diallo was unarmed, but officers testified they thought he was reaching for a gun when they shot him.

David Rabin reports on a union organizing campaign at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. The Justice for Janitors movement has succeeded in winning pay raises for janitors in several large cities. Now Catholic University's janitors are about to decide whether they want to join the organization.

While New York City schools are phasing out coal-powered heat, New Englanders are apparently returning to coal as a way of keeping warm. Noah talks with Don Hysko, owner of Peoples Coal Company in Cumberland, Rhode Island. (3:00) Contact Peoples Coal Company at 1-800-729-5800.

Craig Fahle of member station WDET reports on a small Michigan town -- Hamtramck -- that's literally surrounded by the city of Detroit. Hamtramck is trying to free itself from state financial control. Before it can, it must reconcile the old and the new, as the Polish old-timers fight revitalization efforts that cater to a new kind of resident.

Ivan Watson reports that residents of Gueckedou, Guinea, are now returning to their homes after Guinean government troops recaptured the city from rebels this week. The town is situated along one of the most dangerous borders in Africa, and fighting in the area continues.

NPR's Margot Adler reports there is a man in New York City who will condense your life story into a 60-second novel. With a few brief questions, a little light conversation, you can be immortalized on the World Wide Web through the prose of Dan Hurley.