Morning Edition

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with an acquisition for Lowe's.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

GREENE: The home-improvement retailer, Lowe's, has reportedly agreed to buy Orchard Supply Hardware Stores. The sale price is expected to top $200 million. Now Orchard is a California-based hardware-and-garden chain. It was once owned by Sears, and is now about $230 million in debt.

When New England Patriots' owner Robert Kraft met with then-Russian President Vladmir Putin in 2005, he showed off his Super Bowl ring. Kraft told a crowd last week Putin put the ring on, and said, "I can kill someone with this ring." He then put it in his pocket, and walked away. The Kremlin says the ring was a gift.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The U.S. Open concluded yesterday at the Merion Golf Club, just outside Philadelphia. And for American Phil Mickelson, this was another case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Mickelson finished as runner-up at the Open for a record sixth time, despite leading for most of the tournament. In the end, it was England's Justin Rose who took the prize, winning his first major tournament.

And for a recap of all the drama, we reached USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan, who covered all the action. Hey, Christine.

Jordan is hosting major military exercises known as Eager Lion 2013. More than 15,000 soldiers from 18 countries, including the U.S., will be participating. The war games kicked off as Syria's civil war rages next door.

In northern Lake Michigan, explorers are stepping up their effort to find a ship that sank in 1679. French and American archeologists are on the lake looking for the ship sailed by French explorer Rene-Robert Sieur de la Salle. So far, the excavation has uncovered a wooden beam that looks like the mast of a ship.