The Morning Cram [Rain's-on-the-Way-But-Keep-on-Going-to-Work Edition]

From NPR:  When the Republican National Convention finally gets underway today in Tampa, it will renew a civil war that's been raging — off and on — for more than a century.  

From Kentucky: Meteorologists say the remnants of Tropical Storm Isaac could bring welcome rain to some states in the Midwest this week, although it is unlikely to break the drought that gripped the region. States in the Mississippi River valley are the most likely to benefit from the storm. Two Graves County men charged with murder in a triple shooting will face a March 2013 trial. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet will restrict traffic to one lane on the US 60 Tennessee River Bridge at Ledbetter tomorrow. 

From Illinois:   The Illinois Department of Corrections is telling workers at prisons targeted for shutdown they should keep coming to work after the end of the month. Illinois officials are taking steps to make the state’s criminal law shorter and simpler.  An annual report on Illinois landfills shows there is enough space for the expected refuse that will accumulate over the next 23 years.