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It's getting tougher to be a Republican in some parts of the country while also fully accepting the practice of Islam.

In Tennessee, an incumbent in the U.S. House found herself on the defensive after being called soft on Shariah law, the code that guides Muslim beliefs and actions. And the state's governor has been forced to explain why he hired a Muslim.

The conflict in Syria is now nearly a year and a half old, and there appears to be no end in sight.

August was the deadliest month yet, with thousands of people, mostly civilians, killed in fighting around the country. While anti-government rebels are making advances, government troops are digging in their heels.

It started as a protest movement. Now, analysts in the U.S. and the region agree, the conflict in Syria is a civil war.

A Civil War

Even Syrian President Bashar Assad came close to acknowledging as much in a speech last week.

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NPR's business news starts with the latest comments from Ben Bernanke

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And our last word in business today is Happy Birthday.

Turns out when you're a billionaire investor you can celebrate any way you want. Warren Buffett turned 82 yesterday and his wish was to give away billions, so he did, in the form of millions of dollars worth of his company stock. All told, those shares will eventually be worth about $3 billion. That gift was divided between his three children's charitable foundations.

NPR's Sonari Glinton has more.

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The remnants of Isaac have left Louisiana behind, but parts of the state will be rebuilding for a while. The storm brought extensive flooding to communities that had been largely spared during earlier hurricanes. NPR's Joel Rose rode along as Louisiana's governor toured one such town on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain outside New Orleans.

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NPR's business news starts with yet another patent decision.

Apple and Samsung have been busy suing each other in countries all over the world. The latest decision came this morning. A court in Tokyo ruled that Samsung did not infringe on an Apple patent. A small win for the South Korean company, after a U.S. jury awarded Apple $1 billion in damages last week. Separately, a South Korean court has already ruled both companies infringed on each other's patents. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.