International Envoy Kofi Annan is quitting and his peace plan for Syria in tatters. So, what will the U.S. and others do now? President Obama has quietly allowed a group to raise money to give to the Free Syrian Army and U.S. diplomats have been trying to get a better sense of the opposition on the ground, offering non-lethal support. Syrian opposition figures complain that these are only small adjustments that won't make a difference amid a rapidly changing situation on the ground.
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish. The job market is finally showing signs of improvement after months of disappointing numbers. The Labor Department said today that employers added 163,000 jobs to their payroll in July. That's the best performance since February. Of course, it wasn't all good news. With the jobs increase also came an uptick in the overall unemployment rate to 8.3 percent. As NPR's Jim Zarroli reports, that underscores just how tenuous the recovery remains.
Homeless veterans, their families and volunteers stand in line for food at "Stand Down," an annual event hosted by the Veterans Village of San Diego. The VA estimates that about 67,000 vets are homeless.
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Stand Down, a three-day event supporting 1,000 veterans, is hosted in a tent city on the grounds of San Diego High School. It's a one-stop shop to help homeless vets get a fresh start. It offers health care, addiction therapy, showers, clothes and even an open-air court with pro bono lawyers to clear up fines and misdemeanors.
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Dr. Jon Nachison speaks during the 25th opening ceremony of the Stand Down event. While the population is mostly from the Vietnam era, newer, younger faces have started to trickle in as vets return from Afghanistan and Iraq.
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Nachison, a Vietnam veteran, is the founder and director of Stand Down.
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Veterans stand in the center of the grounds, surrounded by American flags.
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Bob Korchnak, a former Navy battleship sailor, gets a shave and a haircut after traveling from Ohio to take part in Stand Down. Korchnak was arrested numerous times in San Diego for panhandling and came back to take advantage of the court program to deal with outstanding legal issues.
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Jill Millard volunteers in honor of her son Gregory, who was killed in action while deployed with the Army in Iraq.
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Carlos Laguna did two tours with the Marines in Iraq. He says post-traumatic stress led to heavy drinking after he finished serving, and he credits Veterans Village of San Diego for helping him get clean.
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Homeless vets wait for their legal packets and their court-appointed attorneys before going before Judge Roger Crauel. Crauel has been holding court at Stand Down for several years.
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Steve Binder, the County of San Diego deputy public defender, has been helping veterans with their legal troubles for more than 15 years. He helps run the court, where veterans can free themselves from a cycle of legal troubles.
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A legal courtroom in session.
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Nathaniel Roberti came to Stand Down to enroll in the Veterans Village San Diego residential program, which helps get homeless vets off the streets. A judge gave him that option instead of prison.
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Chris Stavran lives in the Veterans Village of San Diego residential program instead of serving prison time for child abuse. He attributes his heavy drug use to post-traumatic stress.
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Homeless veterans, their families and volunteers line up for food at Stand Down, an annual event hosted by the Veterans Village of San Diego. The Veterans Administration estimates that 67,000 vets are homeless nationwide.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Joshua, 28, had trouble adjusting to civilian life in a tough economy after eight years in the Navy. He asked to not share his last name because of the stigma tied with being homeless.
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Paul, a former sniper with the Marines, did two tours in Iraq and says it was hard to reconnect with the civilian world. He declined to give his full name.
Homeless veterans of the Vietnam War have been a face of American poverty for decades, and now some veterans of a younger generation are dealing with the same difficult issues.
"I had my apartment up until 2011," says Joshua, a 28-year-old Navy vet, who asked not to give his last name because of the stigma of being homeless. "[I] couldn't keep up with the rent; I did a little couch surfing and then ended up on the street for a while."
Gabrielle Douglas performs Thursday on the beam during the artistic gymnastics women's individual all-around final. Some people are focusing on her hair rather than her skill.
Gabby Douglas, the 16-year-old gymnast from Virginia Beach, Va., won another gold medal Thursday. The first was won with her team earlier this week. She was the only member of the team to perform in all four rotations. So, why are some black women obsessed with her hair? Writer Monique Fields has this perspective.
Never mind how she flies like a raven on the balance beam. Or flutters across the floor. Or soars on vault. Or swings on the uneven bars.
The West Nile virus is back, and it's looking like it could be particularly bad this year. As as result, federal health officials are warning people to protect themselves against the mosquito-borne infection.
The West Nile virus first showed up in the U.S. in 1999 and quickly spread from coast to coast, raising widespread alarm. Some have argued that red-breasted robins play a key role in the spread of the virus.
As Lena Henderson says, she hadn't been expecting to remarry Roland Davis some 48 years after their divorce, but "you never know what tomorrow is going to bring."
All Things Considered today tells the touching story of how the two 85-year-olds are set to tie the knot again on Saturday in Buffalo, N.Y.
The high-tech pop intro to The Very Best's song "Kondaine" suggests a carefree summer party. There's Afropop uplift to the sound and Top 40 melodiousness to the vocal.
Chris Bram is the author of the novel Gods and Monsters.
Gore Vidal was famous for his hates: academia, presidents, whole portions of the American public and, most notably, Truman Capote. Yet he could be incredibly generous to other writer friends. He wrote beautiful, appreciative essays about Tennessee Williams and Dawn Powell.
He was a man of many facets and endless contradictions.
