The focus of the battle between the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and opposition fighters remains on the city of Aleppo, where it could be a long, deadly fight before either side can claim victory.

Meanwhile, a refugee crisis continues to build:

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is meeting Monday with his German counterpart; he's also set to talk with the head of the European Central Bank. The U.S. has been stepping up pressure on Europe to fix its debt crisis.

With six gold medals, China is dominating the Summer Olympics so far. The host country has yet to win gold — though it has two other medals.

Renee Montagne speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker as he prepares to step down from his posting.

The public transport authority received complaints about train etiquette. New billboards poke fun at bad manners, featuring Frenchmen with giant animal heads: a donkey spitting out gum, a frog leaping the turnstile, a chicken clucking loudly on her cellphone.

Forget about the difference in economies among the states. In Idaho, there are drastic differences from county to county. Agriculture is booming, while the timber industry is hurting — and the counties that depend on those industries show it. Molly Messick of StateImpact Idaho explains.

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney spent the weekend in Israel and waded into two of the most sensitive geopolitical issues in the region - how to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions and where is the right place for the U.S. Embassy in Israel. Romney held a fundraiser today before leaving for Poland, which is the last stop on his three-nation tour.

From Jerusalem, Sheera Frenkel reports.

It turns out to be easier to find out when and where the original Olympic Games were held (776 BC, in Olympia, Greece) than to nail down the story behind National Cheesecake Day.

Yes, in case it had passed you by, today is National Cheesecake Day.

An estimated 370 million people — about 60 million more than live in the U.S. — were without power for at least part of today in northern India because of a massive failure in the country's power grid.