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All Things Considered host Robert Siegel is at the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. He spent time on the floor of the convention hall Tuesday night, with the Michigan delegation during John McCain's speech. McCain won Michigan's primary. And here in Philadelphia, the delegation from Michigan includes some people who backed McCain. Robert talks with two delegates after the speech about their reaction to McCain's speech, and whether they now support George W. Bush. This week has been a huge exercise in persuasion for those McCain supporters -- as they attempt to harness their enthusiasm for McCain to the Bush bandwagon.

NPR's Ted Clark reports that Syria's new president, Bashar Assad, has released 30 political prisoners imprisoned by his father. The prisoner releases have sparked speculation that the new president might prove to be more liberal than his father. But experts say the late Hafez Assad initiated the liberalization and had begun releasing political prisoners before his death earlier this summer.

NPR's Adam Hochberg reports the longest running outdoor drama in the U.S. is undergoing major revisions to attract today's young people. Sex, violence and youth have replaced patriotism and history as major themes for the Lost Colony, which is performed every summer on North Carolina's Outer Banks.

According to sources in Chile's Supreme Court, the court has stripped former dictator General Augusto Pinochet of his immunity from prosecution. The verdict still must be signed by all the judges, and formally announced. If he does, in fact, lose his immunity, Pinochet could then be tried for human rights abuses.

Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Linda Gradstein about the double blow suffered today by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Foreign Minister David Levy quit the government saying Barak had offered too many concessions to the Palestinians. And the Knesset passed the preliminary reading of a bill for early elections.

Veteran newsman Robert Trout has the second of two reports about the history of the Republican party, through his own reporting on the last 17 conventions over a period of nearly seventy years. Today, Trout picks up in the late 1940's and early 1950's, and the fight between moderates and conservatives -- between the forces of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Robert A. Taft. Eisenhower won. But the pendulum swung back in the 1960's with the nomination of Barry Goldwater. Ultimately, Trout points out that the struggle between moderate and conservative still marks party proceedings today.

NPR's Gerry Hadden reports that a traditional form of Cuban music and dance that is rarely heard on the island is thriving in one part of Mexico. In the streets of the port city of Veracruz, you can often find live danzon concerts, and dozens of couples dancing to the melody. Even young people have fallen in love with the danzon. A local danzon troupe has toured the US, Canada and Europe.

It was forty years ago today that "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini," sung by Brian Hyland, written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, topped the charts.

Host Alex Chadwick talks to Mark Smirnoff, editor of the Oxford American about the magazine's annual Southern Music issue, which contains a free CD. The music covers a wide range of styles and singers, all with some connection to the South.

Recent Republican conventions have given new visibility to religious conservatives, who were finding a home and a power base as never before in the GOP. The role of religious activists has been far less prominent in Philadelphia this week. But that does not mean the Christian right has disappeared. NPR's Lynn Neary reports.