A fifth day of negotiations between President Obama and congressional leaders has concluded but they've yet to reach a deal to raise the country's debt ceiling. The AP reports, however that unlike yesterday's dramatic conclusion to the negotiations, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) "pronounced the session a good one."

The state's Democratic governor and Republican legislators struck a deal Thursday to end a budget impasse. Robert Siegel talks with Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck.

In the last decade, births have surpassed immigration as the driving force behind the Latino population growth in the United States. That's according to a new study released by the Pew Hispanic Center, today.

Most of that growth, researchers found, came from Mexican-Americans. The study found that from 2000 to 2010, 4.2 million Mexicans emigrated to the United States, whereas 7.2 million Mexican-Americans were born in the country. Pew reports:

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican lawmakers say they have reached a deal that will end Minnesota's government shutdown.

The AP reports:

The deal came after a three-hour negotiating session Thursday that followed major concessions by Dayton, a Democrat. It would end a two-week shutdown.

The two sides agreed on a proposal that would raise $1.4 billion in new revenue, half by delaying state aid checks to school districts and the other half by selling tobacco payment bonds.

The same folks who first asked Americans, "Got Milk?" in ads that have become part of popular culture are out with a new and far edgier pitch.

The question this time, put to stressed-out husbands and boyfriends is, "Are you a man living with PMS?"

The campaign from the California Milk Processor Board is mainly online and can be found at the cheeky URL: EverythingIDoIsWrong.org. The milk promoters' proposition this time around: "Milk can help reduce the symptoms of PMS," so stock up, henpecked males everywhere.

The release of the last Harry Potter movie marks an end to a saga more than 10 years in the making. The first J.K. Rowling book was published in 1997. But the question of what young adult series will fill that void remains to be seen. Michele Norris talks to Judy Bulow, a book buyer at Tattered Cover Books in Denver, about what comes after the adventure of the boy wizard comes to an end.

The U.S. State Department has funded international student exchanges for decades, looking to form lifelong bonds and increase understanding across borders.

One program brought hundreds of Afghan high school students to small communities in the U.S. beginning in 2004.

But this year, the U.S. has quietly suspended the popular youth exchange. The reason? Fear of a dark future in Afghanistan was prompting too many of the students to bail out of the program and seek asylum elsewhere.

Deciding To Flee To Canada

America's South, Midwest and Southwest are suffering through drought and high heat. Those regions have braved a string of days that saw temperatures in the high 90s, with heat indexes commonly reaching above 110 degrees.

But forecasters say much of the eastern U.S. will experience a gradual cool-down in the next few days. "New York and the D.C. area will drop down intothe lower 80s by Friday," the AP said, "while Atlanta drops to the upper 80s Friday and Saturday."

It's the 70^th anniversary of the classic children's book, Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey. But it's perhaps only in hindsight one can see how the ducklings were revolutionaries of sorts.

Call them accidental heroes. A very pregnant Mrs. and Mr. Mallard were never looking to change the world when they came to Boston's Public Garden. They just wanted a safe place to settle down.

'She Was A Lot Braver Than I Am'

Mike Vuick, owner of McDain's Restaurant and Golf Center in Monroeville, Pa., has taken a stand: Starting Saturday, his restaurant will no longer admit children younger than 6.

"I'm doing this on behalf of all the kind, refined people who have emailed me who have had meals ruined," Vuick told The Wall Street Journal. "I've decided someone in our society had to dig their heels in on this issue."