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Congress goes on its annual August break Friday afternoon. And for the first time in recent years, members will leave town without a full-on crisis over must-pass legislation. No debt-ceiling meltdown, no fiscal cliff, not even a government shutdown. At least, not yet.

In Zimbabwe, the opposition is crying foul, alleging vote manipulation by President Robert Mugabe's party. Mugabe, who has ruled the country since independence in 1980, is facing opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the race for president.

The village of Dull, Scotland, has just been visited by a delegation from Bland Shire, Australia. It wanted to get in on a bit of the publicity generated last year when Scotland's Dull established links with Boring, Ore. Bland Shire resident Dot McCaskie said she hoped the visit would bring awareness to places with unusual names.

In the 1980s, My Little Pony was a toy line and TV franchise aimed at little girls. These days, an expanding group of grown men are fans of the pastel-colored ponies. They call themselves "bronies." This weekend, thousands are heading to Baltimore for BronyCon 2013 — a big jump from the 100 who attended the convention two years ago.

Also: John Hodgman on Ayn Rand; J.K. Rowling to donate proceeds of new novel to charity; Fox News defends anchor's interview with the author of Zealot.

The rise is being tied to a drop in weekly jobless claims, as well as assurances from the Federal Reserve that it would continue to support the U.S. economy.

Acting altruistically rather than selfishly is what makes quarantines successful in stopping disease outbreaks. But an analysis by scientists at MIT finds that commuting patterns also could play a big role in how infectious diseases spread.

Edward Snowden has been granted temporary asylum by Russia and has left the transit zone at Moscow's airport where he has been holed up for more than a month. Morning Edition host Renee Montagne talks to NPR's Corey Flintoff in Moscow and Pentagon correspondent Larry Abramson.

The Labor Department announced on Thursday that applications for jobless benefits fell to 326,000 last week — that's the lowest level since January of 2008.

The chilling, never delivered speech for Queen Elizabeth II was drafted by civil servants in 1983 as part of a war games scenario.