Female genital mutilation is still remarkably common — mainly in Africa, but also in some countries in Asia and the Middle East and in immigrant communities in Europe and the U.S.

TOUBAB KREWE is rooted in the rich traditions of Mali and West Africa, but deftly weaves blues, surf-rock, and other American styles into their jams.  They've now added "festival organizers" to their to-do list, as they're putting together Carnivalito, a Black Mountain festival (July 13 & 14) that includes Donna the Buffalo, Ivan Neville, and DJ Equal.  Drew & Justin, the band's guitarist and kora player, join Martin as guest hosts to spin tunes and talk about their latest projects.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has brought formal doping charges against cyclist Lance Armstrong.

The Washington Post, which broke the story, reports that as a result "Armstrong has been immediately banned from competition in triathlons."

The Post adds:

The Justice Department is walking away from its case against John Edwards.

Federal prosecutors have announced they will not retry the former Democratic presidential candidate on campaign finance charges. The decision comes soon after jury was unable to reach a verdict.

Government lawyers asked Judge Catherine Eagles to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning they will not take another bite at the apple and try to resurrect their high profile case.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is defending his effort to prevent non-U.S. citizens from voting in his state after the Justice Department filed a lawsuit to stop him on Tuesday.

Scott told NPR's Michel Martin on Tell Me More Wednesday that after learning his state didn't verify the citizenship status of registered voters, he's trying to ensure that the ballots of U.S. citizens aren't diminished:

This week, World Cafe invites listeners to discover the music of New Orleans with the series Sense of Place.

Scientists Wednesday unveiled the first catalog of the bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that populate every nook and cranny of the human body.

Researchers hope the advance marks an important step towards understanding how microbes help make humans human.

The human body contains about 100 trillion cells, but only maybe one in 10 of those cells is actually — human. The rest are from bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms.