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Landing on Mars is no walk in the park. It requires years of planning, thousands of engineers and, in the case of NASA's Curiosity rover, billions of dollars. NPR's Joe Palca has covered the last four successful landing missions and has some thoughts about process of getting to Mars.

A homeowner in Varney, Ontario, recently discovered 80,000 bees nesting in her house. She realized she had a problem when honey started dripping from the ceiling, and called Saugeen Country Honey for help. Guest host Susan Stamberg speaks with the company's co-owner, beekeeper Dave Schuit about the job.

In a much needed sign of hope for the U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported Friday that the country gained 163,000 jobs in July, which was better than expected. Still, unemployment rose a bit to 8.3 percent. NPR's Chris Arnold reports from an annual economics retreat in Maine with reaction from some of the country's top economists and analysts there.

Guest host Susan Stamberg speaks with Abdul Rahman Abu Hothyfa, spokesman for the Union of Aleppo Coordinators. He gives an account of the violence and organizing happening on the ground.

The American men's basketball team has faced criticism for Thursday night's 156-73 blowout victory over Nigeria at the London Olympics. At the arena, NPR editor Vickie Walton-James spoke to Nigerian fans, to learn what they thought about being on the wrong end of a record score

Orthodox Jews around the world have been reading the Talmud, cover to cover, for almost seven and a half years straight. Day by day, they read each of the more than 2,000 pages of the holy book, and this past week, they finished the last page together in celebration.

It's been a big day for Serena Williams. First, she started the day by winning her first individual Olympic gold medal. Then she won a chance for another gold in women's doubles, playing with her sister, Venus. The pair defeated the Russian team of Nadia Petrova and Maria Kirilenko.

Swimming the final race of his Olympic career, Michael Phelps gilded his resume just a bit more, helping the men's 4x100m medley relay team claim the gold medal. Phelps turned away a surprising challenge from the Japanese relay team, which had the lead when he went into the water to swim butterfly.

A rover poised for a Mars landing late Sunday will explore higher and farther than any before. It's loaded down with experiments designed to test the rocks and atmosphere of Mars. Question No. 1: Was there life there?

Tiki Gelana also set a new standard for women in the Olympics, with a finishing time of 2:23.07. Kenya's Priscah Jeptoo was second and Russia's Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova finished third.