Tonight:

Conventional wisdom. On the final day of the Democratic National Convention, we'll speak with the mayor of Cincinnati about Barack Obama -- and the pivotal role Ohio will play in the upcoming election.

Death on the way to a new life. At least sixty people believed to be migrants drown when their boat capsizes within a stone's throw of the Turkish coast.

Specious delivery. A careful examination of documents found in Libya shows that the CIA tortured prisoners -- and handed them over to Moammar Gadhafi.

Smokestack lightning. There's a storm of debate after the federal government weakens regulations for emissions from coal-powered plants.

One scientist's trash is another's treasure. It was once dismissed as "junk DNA" -- but now, research proves it was just misunderstood.

And...passing with flying colourlessness. Clad in white overalls and piloting a hang glider, Russian President Vladimir Putin tries to help some endangered cranes fly home -- but is more successful in staging a photo opportunity.

As It Happens, the Thursday edition. Radio that supposes a picture is worth a thousand birds.

Last night belonged to former President Bill Clinton. And tonight's all about the current President of the United States -- who'll make the case that he should also be the next President: Barack Obama.

Today is the final day of the National Democratic Convention -- when President Obama will formally accept the Democratic nomination for president in the November election. And while right now all eyes are on the convention site -- Charlotte, North Carolina -- in less than two months, the focus will be on Ohio -- a key state for any presidential hopeful.

Mark Mallory is the Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. We reached him at the Convention in Charlotte.

In that interview, you heard Carol ask Mayor Mallory about a new ad running in the U.S. This ad features a Canadian woman who may be familiar to "As It Happens" listeners.

We interviewed Shona Holmes in 2009 when she starred in a commercial in which she claimed doctors told her she had a tumor. She claimed she was told she would not be able to recieve medical treatment in Canada in time to save her life. The ad cautioned Americans that if they accept President Obama's health care plan, they will end up with a system like Canada's.

After the ad aired, many of her claims were challenged, and medical professionals called her story "exaggerated".

Now, Ms. Holmes is back, appearing in this new ad -- once again telling her story. Here's what it sounds like.

The CIA was probably hoping that the secrets it left behind in Libya would have been buried along with Moammar Gadhafi.

Not all of them were.

An investigation into documents recovered last year from the offices of Libya's intelligence chief appear to reveal new information about shadowy U.S. dealings there. Information about previously unknown cases of rendition and possible torture.

Laura Pitter is the counterterrorism advisor at Human Rights Watch, which acquired the documents in Libya last year. We reached her in New York City.

It was a molecular mystery.

Scientists had long been confounded as to the purpose of millions of pieces of DNA in the human genome. They were so confounded that they branded the genetic material "junk-DNA".

But today, scientists with the international Encyclopedia of DNA Elements project published research that shows the DNA they were studying can no longer be called junk -- and may actually hold the key to understanding the development of diseases.

Job Dekker is a professor with the University of Massachussetts Medical School and is one of the research project's principal investigators. We reached him at his lab in Worcester, Massachussetts.

It's a tragedy -- one that's become all too common.

A small boat allegedly carrying migrants being smuggled into Europe capsized off the coast of Turkey today, mere metres from the wharf. News reports suggest that up to sixty people may have died after being trapped below decks.

Vildan Ay is a reporter for the Turkish news network SkyTurk three-sixty, and she's been following the story. We reached her in Istanbul.

If you kill two birds with one stone...there's a pretty good chance that plenty more birds will show up to mourn the deaths of their buddies.

Last night on the program, Carol spoke with a researcher at the University of California who has been studying western scrub jays. Specifically, their behaviours when one of their own dies. She found that they gather around, they squawk -- essentially they appear to hold funerals.

And after we heard from her, we heard from you. Adrian O'Sullivan in Bowen Island, BC sent us this email:

"One summer morning in the late 'sixties, I was awakened at first light, in my tent at a Hinton, Alberta campsite, by a tremendous cacophony. In the middle of a nearby forest clearing lay a dead magpie, and high in the surrounding trees scores of magpies all calling loudly, some jumping from branch to branch, obviously greatly agitated. I returned to my campfire to brew up tea, and after maybe fifteen minutes I noticed that all had become quiet. Back in the clearing, I found the magpies had all flown away, leaving their dead comrade alone on the ground ... a sad sight. I found the experience curiously moving and further evidence of the intelligence many ascribe to the Crow family."And speaking of crows, Len Moxon, from Halifax sent us this email:

"A few years ago, we were walking the dog and heard a huge 'bang' behind us. Then I saw a black feathery form on top of a transformer mounted high on a power pole. It was clear that a crow had landed on the transformer and reached past an insulator to peck at a wire, making the short circuit that ended its life. Already a mass of fellow crows were gathering, and they circled the transformer for a long time without landing -- but crowing their little hearts out."And finally Rosemarie Cunningham from Edmonton sent us this note:

"The loud squawking of magpies directed us to a corpse that apparently flew into the side of our house. That day, and several days after, the community gathered in huge numbers. Some approached the body and gently plucked at a feather and squawked. Others congregated in a nearby tree or on the power lines. Even a blue jay joined in to have a look." Thank you Rosemarie, Len and Adrian for sending in your emails about strange encounters of the bird kind. You can always email us at aih@cbc.ca, call our toll-free Talkback line at 1-866-481-5718, or post a message on our Facebook page -- just search "CBC As It Happens".

They're being called "grossly inadequate."

Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent has set a new cap on CO2 emissions from coal-fired generating plants. But the cap is considerably higher than what was proposed in draft regulations released a year ago.

As recently as a month ago, in fact, Mr. Kent suggested a cap of three-hundred-and-seventy-five tonnes of CO2 per gigawatt hour of energy produced. Yesterday, Mr. Kent said the new regulations will set the cap at four-hundred-and-twenty.

This isn't sitting well with environmental groups. Or the government of Ontario, which had been lobbying for stricter emissions controls.

Chris Bentley is Ontario's Energy Minister. We reached him in Kitchener, Ontario.

You may wonder what Russian President Vladimir Putin is thinking most of the time. You may even question his priorities. But you know, before you judge a man, you should walk a mile in his shoes. Or, in Mr. Putin's case, you should fly a motorized hang glider for a mile in white overalls designed to connect with a bunch of dysfunctional birds.

The West wants him to agree to sanctions against Syria. He refuses. A recent report found that he lives a lavish lifestyle -- including access to forty-three planes, and four yachts -- while many in Russia live in terrible poverty. This seems to bother him not at all. Under pressure to denounce the severe prison sentence handed the punk band Pussy Riot -- a case that has provoked an international outcry -- he demurs.

But he does have priorities. We already knew about his top one: photo ops. And now we know about a second: the plight of the endangered Siberian white crane.

Yes, rather than, say, reconsider his crackdown on freedom of expression in Russia, Mr. Putin bought a motorized hang glider. He took seventeen hours of flying lessons. And then he took that motorized hang glider to northern Siberia. Put on the white overalls I mentioned -- to make him appear to be a large Siberian white crane himself. And then, he attempted to guide the cranes to their winter habitat.

As a photo op, it was a success: "The Flight of Hope", as it was called, was thoroughly covered by the Russian and international press. As an aid to crane migration, it was a bust: Mr. Putin took two flights of hope -- and each time, he was followed by only one crane.

I hope no one punished the birds. Because frankly, a lot of what Vladimir Putin does is hard to follow.

Now here's Cuff the Duke, with "Follow Me".

What is a "Charter City"? That's a question more and more Hondurans are asking themselves these days.

The government in that Central American nation -- led by President(e) Pepe Lobo -- has unveiled plans to build a city, from scratch, with private money from foreign investors.

On Tuesday, the Honduran government signed a "memorandum of understanding" with a group of foreign investors. The government says it hopes that "these model development zones" will have their own laws, tax system, judiciary and police.

Gregorio Ety is with the Fraternal Black Organization of Honduras, which represents the Garifuna, who are descendents of indigenous and African people. We reached Mr. Ety in La Ceiba.

School Principal Ron Bradley is breaking his own rule by handing out a zero. To the media.

Mr. Bradley is the principal of Ross Sheppard High School in Edmonton, whose school policy prevented teachers from giving students a mark of zero. Last June, we spoke with Lynden Dorval, a physics teacher who was suspended when he violated that policy by assigning zeros to some students. Now Principal Bradley wants Mr. Dorval fired.

Last week, Ron Bradley met with school staff. A recording of that meeting was obtained by CBC Edmonton. And on that recording, Mr. Bradley criticizes news outlets for creating undeserved controversy about the policy.

Here is part of what Mr. Bradley had to say, for the record. And a note: this recording is difficult to hear.

A group of families in Britain are calling for a public inquiry into the actions of former pathologist Freddy Patel.

Freddy Patel was struck off Britain's medical register last month, after a string of botched post-mortems came to light -- including that of Ian Tomlinson. You may remember Mr. Tomlinson -- he was the newspaper seller killed after being hit by a police baton during London's 2009 G20 protests. Mr. Patel said Mr. Tomlinson had died of heart failure. A later examination by other pathologists concluded Mr. Tomlinson had actually died of internal bleeding.

In 2005, Freddy Patel was responsible for the autopsy of twenty-two-year-old Daniel Abrey. His family believes that Dr. Patel actually did the autopsy on the wrong body.

Hilary Abrey is Daniel's mother. She is one of the people calling for a public inquiry into Freddy Patel. We reached Ms. Abrey at her home in Waltham Abbey, England.

It should have been a dream apartment.

But when Graham Usher moved into his new place in the Priory Hall development in Dublin, Ireland, in 2007, that dream turned out to be a nightmare.

Mr. Usher's story is not unfamiliar across the Emerald Isle, as the country's housing market collapse continues to take its toll.

We reached Graham Usher on his mobile phone in Dublin.

It was a drama like no other that played itself out on the ice of arenas across the country during the month of September, in 1972. Forty years ago, the Hockey Summit was hailed as the ultimate confrontation between a team of players from the National Hockey League and those of the Soviet Union's Red Army.

On this fortieth anniversary, we'll remember a remarkable moment in hockey history -- Phil Esposito's emotional outburst after a frustrating loss in Vancouver, where fans booed Team Canada off the ice. Here's what he had to say -- from our archives.