NPR News

The American Ashton Eaton can call himself the greatest athlete in the world, today.

With 8,869 points, Eaton took the gold medal in the decathlon. His American teammate Trey Hardee took the silver with 8,671 points.

If you're not familiar, the decathlon is the closest the sports world comes to a standardized test in athletic ability. It spans two days and 10 events, including the 100 meter dash, the long jump, the high jump and the shot put.

The final event is the 1,500 meter run. It's a grueling final metric mile. Eaton finished it easily with a time of 4:35.

Gospel and soul music was integral to Ryan Shaw's upbringing. The Decatur, Ga., native was born into a devout Southern Pentecostal family, and at 5 began singing in church with his four brothers. Secular pop music was not part of Shaw's musical upbringing, but he eventually left for college and ultimately landed a part in the gospel musical A Good Man Is Hard to Find (Part II). That gig opened up many opportunities for Shaw, including a major-label record deal in 2006.

(This post appeared in our Olympics blog, The Torch.)

The American Ashton Eaton can call himself the greatest athlete in the world, today.

With 8,869 points, Eaton took the gold medal in the decathlon. His American teammate Trey Hardee took the silver with 8,671 points.

If you're not familiar, the decathlon is the closest the sports world comes to a standardized test in athletic ability. It spans two days and 10 events, including the 100 meter dash, the long jump, the high jump and the shot put.

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Movie producers in India think they have a different formula for success. For decades, sex and nudity have been taboo in Bollywood films. So, the makers of a new film, a sequel called "Jism 2," made headlines when they cast Sunny Leone in the lead role.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "JISM 2")

SUNNY LEONE: (Foreign language spoken) I'm a Porn Star.

Now that pianist Leif Ove Andsnes is in his 40s, he's told himself that it's time to "grow up" and immerse himself in Beethoven. This comes at the same time that he's immersing himself in the life of his daughter Sigrid, now 2.

For Andsnes, seeing the world through Beethoven's eyes is one thing, but seeing it through the eyes of a child is something else altogether.

Usain Bolt cemented his place as one of the greatest sprinters in history, when he won the 200 meter final today.

Bolt was challenged by his Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake, who closed in with less than 100 meters to go. Bolt kicked on his burners and ended up taking back the lead and beating Blake 19.32 to 19.44 seconds.

The big deal here is that this makes Bolt the first Olympian to win both the 100 meter and 200 meter races two Olympics in a row.

Warren Weir, another Jamaican, took third.

The AP adds:

The Litchfield Jazz Festival leads off with a weeks-long camp for high-school students and New York's finest musicians on the faculty, then climaxes with a two-day festival. This year it's August 11-12 in Goshen, Conn., but here we have two sets from the 2010 festival, featuring two groups with young leaders.

There's some disturbing news out today about a disease we don't hear about much these days: gonorrhea. Federal health officials announced that the sexually transmitted infection is getting dangerously close to being untreatable.