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The biggest challenge The Amazing Spider-Man faces might be surprisingly existential for a summer blockbuster: Why should it be?

If you want to know where your meat came from, you won't be happy with the World Trade Organization right now. Late last week, the WTO announced that the United States' country-of-origin labels, which took effect in 2008, discriminate unfairly against foreign meat suppliers such as Mexico and Canada.

Would you pick a doctor just because someone you had never met gave her the thumbs up in an online review? Maybe not, but more people are turning to online sites such as RateMDs.com and Angie's List to look at what other patients have to say about a doctor's communication skills, punctuality and other intangibles that make up the patient experience.

We've still got more than a month to go to Discovery Channel's 'Shark Week', but why wait? Great white sharks have been seen off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Over the past few days, shark "spotters" reported great white sharks close to the town of Chatham, according to Cape Cod Shark Hunters. One shark was close to Chatham harbor but didn't swim inside.

I like science fiction as much as the next guy. No, strike that. I like science fiction way more than the next guy. I especially like science fiction that combines big ideas, smart writing and exploding spaceships. So why did I find Prometheus — Ridley Scott's semi-prequel to Alien — so flat?

It wasn't for lack of big ideas. Prometheus had that in spades, with its conceit that humanity's origins lay in ancient (and very large) astronauts.

It wasn't for lack of exploding space-ships. Prometheus had lots of those too and a few exploding bodies.

Mike Nichols has won every major entertainment award over a long career in theater, comedy, TV and film. He returned to Broadway directing a revival of Death of a Salesman, which picked up seven Tony nominations. Nichols warns the production may be his last. Originally broadcast May 23, 2012.

A new constitution is an essential step toward democracy for Egypt. During a recent visit to the country, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said she "would not look to the U.S. Constitution if I were drafting a constitution in the year 2012." Originally broadcast on February 13, 2012.

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is perhaps best known for his research tracing the family and genetic history of famous African Americans. A selection of his writings on race, politics and culture appear in The Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Reader. Originally broadcast May 8, 2012.

In his new book, How to Cook Everything: The Basics, Mark Bittman explains with careful instructions and 1,000 colorful photos how to stock your pantry, how to dice vegetables, which knives you should buy �" and to really get back to basics �" how to boil water. Originally broadcast March 19, 2012.

The New York Times has an interesting look at the changes in the way the academic world views Mormonism — and if you follow popular culture, I think you see similarly that there are more Mormons talking about being Mormons than there might have been a while ago (and no, I am not talking about Big Love and Sister Wives, but about things like Mormon contestants on reality shows who talk some, but not necessarily a lot, about their faith).

Good morning - we're following these stories this morning.

Power's Still Out For Nearly 2 Million, And Intense Heat Continues.

Colorado Springs Blaze 70 Percent Contained, But Some Tankers Grounded.

Syrian intelligence agencies have established at least 27 detention facilities — an "archipelago of torture centers scattered across the country" — according to a report released today by Human Rights Watch.

The international watchdog group says it has documented "systematic patterns of ill-treatment and torture that ... clearly point to a state policy of torture and ill-treatment and therefore constitute a crime against humanity."

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Visitors to the Columbus Zoo over the weekend were startled witnesses to a family feud. A fight broke out when mother elephant Phoebe was disciplining her son Beco. Another elephant, known as Aunt Connie, disapproved and the females started shoving each other. A zoo director told the Columbus Dispatch that elephants, like humans, sometimes disagree about child rearing. He also said the little elephant Beco is a punk. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Update at 11:45 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reports that "the military says six Air Force tankers are resuming firefighting flights after a deadly crash of one tanker over the weekend. U.S. Northern Command says the flights will resume Tuesday."

As you'll see in our original post below, earlier today seven such tankers had been grounded. It's not yet clear why one plane apparently isn't being put back into use fighting the wildfires in western states.

7:40 a.m. ET. Some important updates on the wildfires out west: