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Massachussetts has long been one of the most generous states for students with special needs. A 26-year old law has required school districts to give students the "maximum feasible benefits" to keep them on track in public schools. But lawmakers have recently limited those services, and that has parents of special needs kids worried. From Member Station WBUR, Toni Randolph reports.

Today in Harrison, New Jersey, producers of the HBO television series The Sopranos held a casting call for anyone and everyone interested in being an extra on the hit show. Ill-equiped to handle the thousands of hopefuls that showed up, HBO called off the search before many people had a chance to be seen. Host David Wright talks to a few of the disgruntled Sopranos fans.

Host Bob Edwards talks to NPR's Cokie Roberts and Kevin Phillips about political events of the week. The Republican National Convention begins next week in Philadelphia and George W. Bush has not announced a running mate.

Quinn Klinefelter of member station WDET reports that promoters of the Detroit Grand Prix are hoping to move the car race from its current home on Bell Isle to a proposed site at the state fairgrounds. Michigan's Governor John Engler supports the idea, but Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer is opposed. Archer says although he supports a new site, the proposed fairground location, would cause too many problems for the surrounding residents.

Marianne McCune of member station WNYC reports that a new committee appointed to decide the future of Ellis Island is pushing to transform several crumbling buildings on the south side of the island into a center for tourists, scholars and world leaders.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from Havana, on the growing minority of people in Cuba, who are self employed. Even though Fidel Castro's Communist government sets strict standards for entrepreneurs, more and more Cubans are trying their hand as capitalists. But they're finding it more difficult to make a profit than they thought, and with the high taxes they're forced to pay, many are barely getting by.

Mitch Teich of member station KNAU reports on the unusual weather conditions in parts of the Western U.S. that are posing a danger to parks like Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Wildfires have broken out during a lapse in the normal wet season, and park employees face several challenges in stopping the blazes.

NPR's Jack Speer reports on the aging Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Washington, D.C. It's just one of the thousands of bridges considered obsolete in the U.S. The Federal Highway Administration is citing structural problems and the strain of increased use as its reasons for replacing the Wilson Bridge and others like it on schedule.

Host Lynn Neary talks with musicians in the ensemble AXIOM OF CHOICE about their new CD, Niya Yesh. Blending traditional Persian melodies and instruments with those from a variety of other cultures, ensemble members Loga Rameen Torkian and Mamak Khadem, create a highly stylized multicultural crossover music. (8:55)Niya Yesh by Axiom of Choice is available from Emd/Narada; ASIN: B00004T9SS or NARADA WORLD RECORDS www.narada.com

Host Lynn Neary talks with Wall Street Journal technology writer Walter Mossberg about the future of communication via the so-called wireless web.