Before Japandroids reached the popularity they've earned today, guitarist Brian King and drummer David Prowse had to endure some ups and downs. In the beginning, the duo gave up the search for a lead vocalist and third member, deciding instead to split vocal duties. This turn of events ended up affecting the band's dual but equal decision-making process — even the band's name is a hodgepodge of ideas from each member.

Cooking can be hazardous to your health and to the environment, particularly if you are cooking indoors over an open fire and burning wood and dung, as many people in poor, rural areas of the world do every day.

Michael Phelps, the American Olympic swimming star, will not try to repeat his incredible feat of Beijing. Phelps collected eight gold medals in 2008, which essentially cemented his place as the the best swimmer the world has seen.

The New York Times reports that Phelp's coach, Bob Bowman, announced today that Phelps will not compete in the 200-meter freestyle in London, which reduces his event load to seven.

The Times adds:

Some two million customers from North Carolina to New Jersey and Illinois again woke up to no power Monday, following severe thunderstorms on Friday that left at least 18 dead. Meanwhile, the region faces more blistering heat.

The Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, is again back in power in Mexico after a 12-year hiatus. PRI candidate Enrique Pena Nieto claimed victory after exit polls showed a clear lead over his rivals in Sunday's election. The PRI ran Mexico for much of the 20th century with a mix of corruption and coercion until being ousted in an election in 2000. Pena Nieto called his victory a "fiesta of democracy."

Whenever a car or truck turns off busy Channahon Road onto the long drive to the Caterpillar plant in Joliet, Ill., a handful of union workers on a picket line scream, "Scab! Scab!!"

As strikers try shaming the few workers and managers who cross the line, even a clearly marked sandwich delivery car gets shouted down.

Approximately 800 workers at this plant, which makes hydraulic systems for Caterpillar's heavy construction and mining equipment, are about to enter their third month on strike.

Negotiations Fail

This summer, while athletes prepare for the Olympic Games in London, music lovers are getting ready for the "Olympics of Choral Music." Officially called the World Choir Games, this Herculean singing competition features hundreds of choirs from around the world. This year is the first time it will be held in the U.S. — in Cincinnati, starting Wednesday.

Catherine Roma, conductor of women's choir MUSE, says her philosophy is more about musical excellence than competition. After witnessing the 2010 Choral Olympics in China, she saw something that surprised her.

Brooklyn-born Aaron Copland was an American original in more ways than one. It's not just his music, with its openness and simple elegance. It's that he expected ballet dancers to act like cowboys, pianists to play blues and orchestra players to accompany political speechmaking. His Lincoln Portrait, composed during World War II, matches words from our 16th president with symphonic music.