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Authorities say the man was ordered by top Zeta leaders to direct the beheading and mutilation of 49. The drug gang has vehemently denied involvement.

The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics are just over a month away — leading NPR and other media to cover the intense preparations for the games. That also means the Paralympic Games are up next, as athletes with disabilities round into top form for the Aug. 29 opening day.

Is it possible to make a top ten list of albums everyone can agree on? Help us put one together by casting your vote for the albums everyone can love.

Forbes magazine is out with its yearly list of the 400 richest Americans. Their combined net worth increased 13 percent since last year. The top of the list contains the usual suspects: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison, the Koch brothers and the children of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.

"It would not make sense" for the federal government to make prosecuting recreational users in states that have decriminalized marijuana a top priority, the president tells ABC News.

Fresh Air's resident rock historian remembers soul singer Lorraine Ellison, who recorded a handful of albums and dozens of singles in the '60s and '70s; though she charted a few R&B hits, she never quite broke through to stardom. Her biggest success was with the string-saturated ballad "Stay With Me," which topped out at No. 11 on the R&B charts and has since been covered by everyone from Bette Midler to teenybopper idol Rex Smith.

Christopher O'Riley, host of NPR's From the Top, considers Elliott Smith to be one America's greatest songwriters. Smith died in 2003 before ever achieving massive fame. O'Riley's latest release, Home to Oblivion, is a classical translation of Smith's work.

In 1959, jazz pianist Dave Brubeck topped the pop charts and shook up the notion of rhythm in jazz with an odd-metered song called "Take Five." On the occasion of its golden anniversary and a new reissue of Time Out, Brubeck explains why it was such a hit.

President Bush's top getaway, his ranch in Crawford, Texas, is also the place where Laura Bush seems to find the most solace. NPR's Ketzel Levine gets a rare tour of the ranch with the first lady, who discusses her efforts to restore native grasses and plants to the 1,600-acre property. See photos of wildflowers at the Bush ranch.

One of the world's top female wrestlers is featured in this week's installment of the Weekend Edition Sunday summer reading series. Toccara Montgomery will compete in Athens in the 72-kilogram weight division. She talked about books with NPR's Liane Hansen before leaving for the Summer Games.