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Tyler Sullivan will return to class Monday with a note explaining why he skipped school on Friday. The fifth-grader had gone with his dad to a Honeywell plant outside Minneapolis, where President Obama was speaking. When the president shook Tyler's hand, he offered to write an excuse note for him.

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The summer tourism season is what keeps Branson, Missouri thriving. Last year, Branson's live music venues helped draw more than seven million visitors. And so when a tornado tore through the city's popular strip this past February, Branson's future seemed uncertain. As Missy Shelton of member station KSMU reports, city leaders are working hard to let people know that Branson is open for business.

Protests continue against the court rulings on former President Hosni Mubarak. A panel of judges sentenced Mubarak and his former interior minister to life in prison for their role in the deaths of protesters during the Arab Spring uprising in the country. But the panel acquitted six security officials linked to the shootings.

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Now, one way Mitt Romney has challenged President Obama is by going after his foreign policy record. Romney has been especially critical of the president's handling of Iran and Syria. But those attacks aside, some analysts say it's been hard to define where Romney stands on key international issues and whether he differs all that much from the president.

Here's NPR's Jackie Northam.

Former President Bill Clinton and President Obama used to have a famously rocky relationship. But the days when Clinton tried to help his wife, now secretary of state, defeat Obama in the 2008 primaries are ancient history.

Former Clinton strategist Carter Eskew says the ex-president is almost always an asset for Obama.

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Bad economic headlines have not stopped the celebration in Britain. Britons are in the midst of a four-day holiday celebrating Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the throne. And yesterday the queen herself led a flotilla of a thousand boats on the Thames. It was described as the largest such river pageant in more than 300 years, and Vicki Barker was there.

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Let's turn to Syria now. Syria's president gave his first public speech in five months yesterday. Bashar al-Assad told the Syrian Parliament that his government was not responsible for the massacre in Houla last month, in which more than 100 people were killed, nearly half of them children. Also, there is new Syria-related violence in northern Lebanon, near the Syrian border. And to talk about this we've reached NPR's Kelly McEvers.

Kelly, good morning.

KELLY MCEVERS, BYLINE: Good morning.

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NPR's business news starts with some good news for Spain.

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The NBA is halfway through two riveting conference final playoff series, and there's absolutely no indication how they're going to turn out. Last night in Boston, the aging and creaky Celtics proved that they are really a match for the star-studded Miami Heat. Boston beat Miami 93 to 91 in overtime to tie the Eastern Conference Finals at two games apiece. In the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder also are tied 2-2, and they play tonight in San Antonio.