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In part two of our series on the "Megatransect", an attempt by wildlife biologist Mike Fay to walk from the center of Africa to its eastern coast, Fay describes his journey through the Congo Basin. The region is filled with dense jungles and swaps. And it harbors some of the deadliest diseases known to man. Through his recorded field diary, Fay relates the difficulty his team faced as it trekked through a part of the world no human has seen in more than a century. (8:49

There was a standing ovation at baseball's Miller Park in Milwaukee this weekend, as a new athlete took the field for the first time. Standing about eight feet tall -- including his sombrero -- "El Picante" was the star of the show during the Brewers' 6th-inning entertainment: the sausage races.

Facing no resistance from forces loyal to Saddam Hussein, Kurdish militia and U.S. Special Forces seize the key northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, one of the country's main oil-producing areas. Kurdish leaders also report advances elsewhere, including oil fields further north. Hear NPR's Ivan Watson.

U.S. forces move to secure cities and oil fields in the north, attacking the city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's birthplace and base of power. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says much work remains in Iraq, including recovering prisoners of war, searching for weapons of mass destruction and capturing or accounting for the Iraqi leader. Hear NPR's Scott Horsley.

A small new surveillance aircraft, the Silver Fox, will soon be deployed in Iraq to provide a convenient overview of the field. The craft, weighing around 22 pounds, can be launched by catapult or by hand. The Navy plans to ship the drones, costing $50,000 each, to Marines next month. Hear NPR's Robert Siegel and Capt. John Hobday of the Office of Naval Research.

In Chicago, doctors and former patients struggle to save the Cook County Hospital from the wrecking ball. The county agreed in 1988 to tear down the 89-year-old building once a new, state-of-the-art medical center was built next door. Hear Jay Field of Chicago Public Radio.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expressed doubts that it will ever pinpoint the source of the recent E. Coli outbreak. In Central California's Salinas Valley -- the so-called "salad bowl of America" -- spinach farmers are plowing under their crops and laying off field hands. Tamara Keith of member station KQED reports.

People in northern Kentucky are reacting to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend. It is near the hometown of James Alex Fields Jr., the man who drove his car into a crowd of protesters, killing one woman.

Paul Manafort is released from federal prison. And American sports try and find ways to return to the field.

- Daniel talks with Bob Fulton, author of "The Summer Olympics: A Treasury of Legends and Lore" (Diamond Communications/South Bend, Indiana) about the first United States Olympic team. The 13 competitors arrived in Athens, Greece in 1896 for the revival of the long-dormant Games. Their prospects for success were dismal - but they went on to win more gold medals than any other nation in Track and Field. (6:00) ("Our First Olympics" by Bob Fulton, American Heritage magazine, July/August 1996)