NPR News

The last couple of years have certainly felt unusually hot in many parts of the U.S., but are they really all that unusual?

Many people wonder whether a warming climate is turning up the temperature or whether it's all just part of the normal variation in the weather. Among scientists, there's a growing view that these latest heat waves are indeed a result of climate change.

In July, the financial fortunes of the presidential candidates continued along their new trajectories, with Republican Mitt Romney's money-raising efforts outpacing President Obama once again.

Indeed, groups supporting Romney raised one-third more than Obama's re-election effort for the month.

Romney, the all-but-official Republican nominee, actually collected less in July than he had in June, but only slightly. His campaign announced Monday that its overall take for July was $101.3 million.

After a physical and hard fought match, the United States' Alex Morgan scored a goal to beat Canada 4-3 in the 122 minute of the quarterfinal women's soccer match.

The goal sends the United States to the gold medal match against Japan on Thursday.

For the Canadians, this is absolute heartbreak. The United States has quite simply dominated historically. But this match, the Canadians held their own and had a chance to reverse a 26-match losing streak against the U.S.

Joe Palca describes the mood of NASA Mars scientists in the wake of the landing overnight, what the latest pictures and data are from the surface of the red planet and what mission scientists are going to do next with Curiosity.