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NPR'S Julie McCarthy reports from London on the continuing campaign of protests against high fuel prices in Britain. Protestors are blockading nine refineries, and panic buying is depleting gasoline supplies at the pump. Prime Minister Tony Blair said his government has told oil companies to get their tankers moving -- and ordered police to protect drivers from intimidation.

Host Bob Edwards talks to Kenneth Turan, film critic for the Los Angeles Times about the Toronto International Film Festival. Turan says the festival is timed just right as a preview for the fall movie season. Turan says movies like Pollock, about the abstract painter Jackson Pollock...and State of Maine, a satire about Hollywood coming to a small New England town, are something for movie-goers to look forward to.

Commentator Judy Muller's just gotten back from vacation, and says she's missed very little news wise.

Linda talks with Rhonda Albom who survived a crash in a 1998 Ford Explorer this spring. Albom describes the harrowing experience when the tread on her tires separated while she was driving her vehicle on April 25th. Her Ford Explorer rolled three times, spun 180-degrees and took out a street sign leaving her 20-day-old baby bloody in the back seat. Linda rejoins the conversation with Rhonda Albom who, along with her 20-day old daughter, survived a crash in her 1998 Ford Explore in April. Albom tells of her surprise about what the companies knew and when. She is suing both Bridgestone/Firestone and the Ford motor Company. She has also begun distributing flyers alerting Firestone tire owners of what happened to her and to her family.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports on Senate hearings about the Firestone recall, in which Firestone admitted it doesn't use failure data for safety purposes, Ford said Firestone assured the automaker there were no defects, and Transportation Department officials asked for more regulatory authority.

Firestone underwent a similar tire recall in the late 1970s. NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports the recall brought proposals for stricter regulations -- but the proposals were dropped when the Reagan Administration took over in 1981, carrying the banner of deregulation. Some of those who supported more regulation then, are crying "I told you so" now. But not everyone agrees.

Tom Rogers of member station WILL reports that in Decatur, Illinois, news that some defective Firestone tires may have been produced at a local plant is another blow to a town swamped by negative news in recent months.

Some of the highest gas prices in the United Kingdom are in Wales. Some people are stocking up on groceries, fearing that later, they may not be able to get to the store by car. Robert talks to BBC Wales Correspondent Wyre Davies about the effect the prices are having there. He joins us from Cardiff, the Capitol of Wales.

Minnesota Public Radio's Lynette Nyman reports on the efforts of domestic violence counselors to create an Internet site that would facilitate battered women in the United States.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports from Sydney on Australia, the Olympic medal powerhouse. Per capita, Australia wins more Olympic medals than any other country and one reason is its Institute of Sport, created after the country's dismal Olympic performance in 1976. The Institute's laboratories have the latest technology. Sports physiologists closely monitor athletes' immune systems, and the Institute administers aptitude tests to almost all high school students in the country. Critics say the system resembles the old East German program. Supporters say it's the only way Australia can compete against countries like China and the U.S.