Pensacola Murders

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This Thursday July 9, 2009 image made from a video surveillance camera shows an unidentified man dressed in what the county sheriff called "ninja garb" heading towards an unlocked back door of Byrd and Melanie Billings' home (AP)

Police in Pensacola, Florida are searching for additional suspects in the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings, a wealthy couple known for adopting special needs children, who were murdered in their home last week. Video surveillance inside and outside the home captured five suspects entering the home with military precision. Eight people have been arrested. We speak with Tom Ninestine, Breaking News Editor for the Pensacola News Journal.

Lightning Strikes Again

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July is the peak month for lightning strikes. In the United States, lightning is responsible for more than 10,000 fires and causes an estimated 5 billion dollars in damages every year. We revisit a conversation we had about lightning, with John Friedman, author of the book “Out of the Blue: A History of Lightning: Science, Superstition and Amazing Stories of Survival,” which is now in paperback.

Iraqis To Sue the UK

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More than 20 Iraqis, most who worked as interpreters for the British forces in Iraq, are expected to file a lawsuit tomorrow, charging they were not adequately protected from insurgents. The suit will be filed against the British government. The BBC’s Angus Crawford reports.

Kidnappings and Foreclosures Collide in Phoenix “Drop Houses”

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There were nearly 370 kidnappings in 2008 in Phoenix, Arizona — almost all connected to the state’s Mexican immigrant population. Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson tell us about so-called “drop houses,” homes in areas with high foreclosure rates that are used to hold the people who have been kidnapped.

Listener Letters

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We hear from some of our listeners, about segments we’ve done… including a recent story on summer books for ‘tweens. One young listener, Julianne Mozzer, recommends the Narnia books and “The Great Brain” series:

• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• Prince Caspian
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• The Silver Chair
• The Horse and His Boy
• The Magician’s Nephew
• The Last Battle
• The Great Brain
• More Adventures of the Great Brain
• Me and My Little Brain
• The Great Brain At The Academy
• The Great Brain Reforms
• The Return of the Great Brain
• The Great Brain Does It Again
• The Great Brain Is Back (Published in 1995 from loose notes after the author’s death)

What’s with the Wolf T-Shirt?

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Earlier this summer, the top seller on the bestseller list on Amazon.com was a t-shirt made by a company in New Hampshire. Sales have dropped off a bit since then, but the shirt is still selling and attracting online commentary. It’s the “Three Wolf Moon” t-shirt and Michael McGloin, creative director of “The Mountain,” the company that makes the shirt, he joins is to talk about it.

Music from the Show

• Ferde Grofe, “Grand Canyon Suite: V. Cloudburst,” performed by Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic
• Herbie Hancock, “Watermelon Man”
• The Lickets, “Meat City”
• Tito Puente, “Royal T”
• The Lickets, “Serial East”
• Radiohead, “Morning Bell”
• Duran Duran, “Hungry Like the Wolf”