NPR News 2012-10-17 加文本

NPR News 2012-10-17

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

The presidential candidates will spar for a second time tonight, but this time in a town-hall setting, taking questions from voters. NPR's Ron Elving says each man is looking to make big gains at New York's Hofstra University.

This represents the best opportunity. President Obama is going to have to make up for or bounds back from his performance in the first debate on October 3rd which cost him the momentum. Mitt Romney's challenge in this debate is different from the first debate. It is not an election about being seen on the same stage with the incumbent president, the commander in chief. It's more about the relationship he has with these questioners. And he is going to have to speak to them directly and he is going to have to the kind of empathy and human warmth that people look for in a president. NPR's Ron Elving.

The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing all Ohio voters to cast ballots in the final weekend before election day, handing State Democrats a big victory. More from NPR's Pam Fessler.

Ohio officials want to restrict early in-person voting in the final weekend of the campaign to military voters, arguing that local officials were too busy preparing for election day to handle a big turnout. The Obama re-election campaign and State Democrats said that was unfair to other voters and a federal appeals court agreed. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to block the lower court's ruling opened the way for all state voters to cast ballots on the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, before election day. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has now directed every county in the key battleground state to offer 16 hours of additional early voting at weekend. Pam Fessler, NPR News.

The Cuban government says starting in January, it's doing away with much-loathed exit visas, its citizens were required to get to travel abroad. Details from NPR's Greg Allen.

The Cuban government says restrictions on travel will remain in place for doctors and scientists to prevent a brain drain. Other Cubans who can't afford it, would be allowed to travel out of the country without government permission. Jaime Suchlicki, Director of University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies, says the Communist government is taking the step to reduce economic pressures on the island. He expects many Cubans to jump at the chance to leave the country.

Those are going to be an avalanche of Cubans going into foreign embassy, trying to get visas to get out and eventually winding up in the United States.

Under the longstanding “wet foot, dry foot”  policy, Cubans who arrive on U.S. soil are allowed to remain and apply for permanent residency. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

A big shakeup in the financial world today,  Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit who helped guide his company through the 2008 financial crisis, has abruptly resigned. Multiple reports state the departure follows months of tension with the board from which Pandit has also stepped down.

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 128 points at 13,552.

You are listening to NPR News.

The second of two female marines who tried to make it through the grueling Infantry Officer Course has failed due to medical reasons. NPR's Tom Bowman reports the women volunteers were part of a study by the marines to see if women can become ground combat leaders.

The marines have not released the names of either women, citing privacy concerns. One of the women washed out earlier this month during the first day of the Infantry Officer Course at Quantico, Virignia, which lasts 86 days, is considered the toughest training course in the Corps. About 25% of the men failed on that first day as well. The second woman Marine failed late last week, after she was unable to complete two required training events due to an unspecified medical reasons. The Marine Corps said the woman, a 24-year-old second lieutenant, is being treated and is in good condition. So far, no other female marines have signed up for the next course. Tom Bowman, NPR News, Washington.

Dutch police are stunned by an art heist that they say, is the largest scene in years in the Netherlands. They say thieves broken into the Rotterdam Museum early today and stole Picasso, Monet, Matisse and Gauguin paintings, worth hundreds of millions of euros. The collection was exhibited to help celebrate the museum's 20th anniversary.

Back in the U.S., consumer prices have risen for the second straight months, driven largely by more expensive gas. The Labor Department reports the consumer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in September, similar to the month before, take out energy and food prices, which fluctuate the jumping consumer prices is closer to 0.1%.

I'm Lakshmi Singh. NPR News.