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The mansion belonged to aristocrat Ambrose Congreve, who died last year at the age of 104. He spent a lifetime amassing a fabulous collection of art and antiques. Thanks to the eurozone crisis, the Irish are in trouble. So a lot of them flocked to the auction to see if there were any antiques worth investing in.

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NPR's business news starts with a giant deal for Boeing.

It's a big deal that would be worth billions of dollars for Boeing. United Airlines is set to buy about 100 of its planes - the single-aisle 737s. Boeing would still be behind Europe's Airbus when it comes to new orders for the next generation of narrow body jets.

Today's announcement on United's Boeing purchase has long been rumored. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

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Almost 20 million subscribers of the country's largest satellite TV provider are now unable to access dozens of channels.

NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports that DirecTV ordered the blackout after its distribution agreement with Viacom ended.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: If you believe this Viacom video, the sky is about to fall because DirecTV viewers can no longer tune into the antics of "SpongeBob SquarePants," Jon Stewart, or Snooki.

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Sometimes friends become more than friends and Facebook just won't do. And if the friend in question are dogs, they may want to hear today's last word in business.

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Brazil's dog population is second only to the U.S. Two entrepreneurs - a brother and sister team - are hoping to capitalize on that by building an eight-story hotel for pets. With one floor apparently is dedicated to mating.

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Both Republicans and Democrats will tell you, the Jewish vote is vital in the upcoming presidential election. And this year, one party is going very far in its efforts to woo Jewish voters, all the way to Israel. Israel is home to a large American community, and for the first time, the Republican Party has crossed the Atlantic to actively campaign.

NPR's Middle East correspondent Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports that Republican Party envoys find themselves on fertile ground.

Facebook started as a social network for college students. But now that anyone can join, here's a status update: Many of its newest members are senior citizens.

At 101 years old, Florence Detlor is one of the oldest people on Facebook. She says she's always been someone who wants to keep up on the cutting edge of technology.

"Because that's what makes one time different from another," she says.

An unusual terrorism case started in Nigeria late last week. Prosecutors in the capital city of Abuja accused two local men of being members of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP. They were charged with accepting thousands of dollars from the group to recruit potential terrorists inside Nigeria and then send them to Yemen. Olaniyi Lawal, 31, and Luqman Babatunde, 30, have pleaded not guilty.

Most Americans use electricity, gas or oil to heat and cool their homes. But the small city of Brainerd, Minn., is turning to something a bit less conventional: the sewer.

As it turns out, a sewer — the place where a city's hot showers, dishwashing water and organic matter end up — is a pretty warm place. That heat can generate energy — meaning a city's sewer system can hold tremendous potential for heating and cooling.

It's just that unexpected energy source that Brainerd hopes to exploit.

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The app simulates a rescue phone call. The app can show a telephone number — a coworker's, your mother's — and a photo of the supposed caller. Although it can't guarantee your date will believe the fake excuse.

President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are hitting the campaign trail hard this week. On Tuesday, the president was campaigning in Iowa — the state that helped to launch his White House bid in 2008. He told supporters in Iowa he wants a second term in order to finish what he started.

Manchester United is the most famous soccer team in the United Kingdom, and one of the world's most popular sports teams. Now its owners are hoping the team's popularity will translate into big bucks. They're planning to sell Manchester United stock on the New York Stock Exchange. Roger Blitz, of the Financial Times, talks to Renee Montagne about the team's IPO.

Major League Baseball's 83rd All-Star Game wrapped up Tuesday night in Kansas City, Missouri. The National League trounced the American league in an 8-0 blowout, with impressive performances by some San Francisco Giants. Melky Cabrera of the Giants hit the game's only home run and took home the MVP Award.

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Some other news. Google and the Federal Trade Commission are near a deal that could result the largest fine for privacy violations ever imposed by that agency.

NPR's Steve Henn has the story.

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The ownership of American pro sports got just a little more international. That's our last word in business today.

Pro basketball's Brooklyn Nets, formerly the New Jersey Nets, are owned by a Russian businessman. An Indonesian media owner possesses part of the Philadelphia 76ers. And now, that same Indonesian man is among the new investors in D.C. United, the pro soccer team. His name is Erick Thohir.

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Across America people are sweltering through extreme heat this year, continuing a long-term trend of rising temperatures. Inevitably, many are wondering if the scorching heat is due to global warming. Scientists are expected to dig into the data and grapple with that in the months to come. They've already taken a stab at a possible connection with last year's extreme weather events, like the blistering drought in Texas. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

The City Council in San Bernardino, Calif., voted Tuesday night to seek Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, making it the third California city in less than two weeks to make the rare move. The city faces a $45 million budget shortfall.

A U.S. operation in the mountains near Afghanistan last November killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan wanted an apology. The U.S. refused. In response, Pakistan shut down supply routes to Afghanistan for NATO convoys.

After intense talks, two border crossings were reopened last week to convoys for the U.S. and NATO forces.

Pakistan's ambassador in Washington, Sherry Rehman, was at the center of the negotiations. Afterward she called it a moment of great opportunity for the two countries.

The euro touched a two-year low against the dollar Tuesday, as concerns about the eurozone debt crisis continued.

Despite a recession across much of the eurozone and even predictions of the currency's demise, however, the euro has held up relatively well during this crisis.

Over the last 13 year, it has taken on average $1.21 to buy a euro. Now, even in this midst of this crisis, it's worth virtually the same ($1.22).

Sports is more ubiquitous than ever on television. And sports is almost the only thing that's left, live, on TV. NBC Universal is even going to let Americans see the Olympics live this year.

Nevertheless, despite TV's charm, last week as Andy Murray, Great Britain's homeboy, drew closer to making the Wimbledon final, the word was that tickets for actual Centre Court seats would be scalped for up to £32,000 a pair. If you're not hanging around the currency exchange market, that comes to something like $50,000. For two tickets. To a game.

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Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Some forest officials in Minnesota are complaining about deer stands. Deer stands are those small platforms hunters set up in trees to get a better view. In some deer-hunting areas, they've grown into veritable tree houses with stairs, shingled roofs, windows, heaters, lounge chairs, and all on public land. One county land commissioner told the Duluth News Tribune: We're seeing mansions out there. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Batman may be able to save Gotham from villians but the rules of physics apply to him. Four British graduate students produced a paper called "Trajectory of a falling Batman." It says Batman could glide off a 500-foot building as he does in the 2005 movie but he'd hit the ground at a life-threatening 50 miles-per-hour.

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It's been a decade since the first permanent International Criminal Court was created. Today, it delivered its first-ever sentence. The Hague-based court ordered a Congolese warlord to serve 14 years in prison. Thomas Lubango was convicted in March of recruiting and using children as soldiers in his militia. During a four-year conflict, Lubango forced children to fight for him, taking up arms and machetes which they used to slaughter Lubango's tribal enemies in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Renee Montagne reports on tougher interview rules for certain foreign migrants applying for visas to study in the UK.

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The number of African-Americans contracting HIV and AIDS runs considerably ahead of the rest of the population. And now the NAACP hopes to harness the power of the black church to help. During its annual convention this week, the civil rights group unveiled a new HIV/AIDS manual. As NPR's Cheryl Corley reports, it's designed to help ministers talk to their congregations about the problem.

The latest fundraising numbers are in for the two presidential campaigns, and the amounts are eye-popping. President Obama and the Democratic Party raised $71 million, which is an enormous haul. But it was dwarfed by Mitt Romney and the Republican National Committee, which together raised $106 million in the month of June.