Ever wondered whether convention delegates hold political views that are more extreme than most members of their own parties? You could ask them.

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UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Georgia. 72. Romney.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

All the states answer the call of the roll tonight at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, and the District of Columbia and some territories that don't even vote for the president.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Guam. Nine votes.

CORNISH: But when the campaigns plan their candidates' itineraries and when the superPACs make their media buys, not all states are equal. My colleauge Robert Siegel is in Tampa, where he has visited with the delegation from one key battleground state.

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From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish. In New Orleans, Mayor Mitch Landrieu delivered this news this afternoon.

MAYOR MITCH LANDRIEU: Isaac has now formed into a hurricane so we are officially in the fight and the city of New Orleans is on the front lines.

This week on Valley Edition, we revisit the issue of the state's efforts to replace the former Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) program with the new Community Based Adult Services (CBAS) program. Advocates for those with severe disabilities say the new program is turning away many who should qualify, but the state disagrees. Lauren Whaley brings us a special report from Sacramento.

The president of Colombia admitted today that his government and the country's biggest rebel group have engaged in "exploratory talks." The public admission could set the stage for peace talks to end one of the world's longest armed conflicts.

From Bogota, NPR's Juan Forero filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"President Juan Manuel Santos, in a brief televised address, said talks had taken place with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

In August 2004, Tracy Rittel was in a fatal car accident near Fargo. While Tracy battled for her life, her family had trouble finding a place to stay near the hospital.

From that experience, the Rittels created Tracy's Sanctuary House in Bismarck for families who find themselves in a similar situation. Since 2005, some 1,500 families have used the home.

A dozen volunteers "put their hearts and souls into making sure the house is kept up," says Tracy's daughter Kelsey Zottnick.

In The Real Romney, Boston Globe reporters Michael Kranish and Scott Helman examine Mitt Romney's political rise since 1994, when he ran for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts. They explain how Romney shifted from supporting abortion rights to heavily courting social conservatives in the 2008 Republican primary.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

Despite some interference as what is now Hurricane Isaac brush past, Republicans meet this week in Tampa for their national convention, Democrats will follow next week in Charlotte. Some advice to expect little more than carefully scripted political ads. But Political Junkie Ken Rudin argues the conventions have provided some of the great moments of American political history in the past and hopes to see a little bit more over the next couple of weeks.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Isaac rose to hurricane strength this afternoon and should make landfall on the Gulf Coast sometime this evening. It's nowhere near as powerful as Katrina, but the storm will test systems erected since Katrina, both physical barriers like flood gates and seawalls, and administrative and political changes.

Integration efforts, from busing children out of district to opening charter schools, have proven controversial. David Karp, author of Kids First and Sheryll Cashin, author of The Failures of Integration discuss why some schools are segregated and what, if anything, should be done about it.