Search results for

Voters in 44 states will elect new legislatures next Tuesday. Although most of the campaigns revolve around local issues like traffic and sprawl, the outcomes are of great importance to both national parties. The state legislatures will draw the boundaries for new Congressional districts next year, giving them the power to erase or augment the gains made by either party in next Tuesday's election. NPR's Pam Fessler went to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania to see how the national attention on the race was affecting one close contest for the state Senate.

Texas Governor George W. Bush began the final full week of the presidential campaign in the West today, trying to pry loose the biggest prize of all -- California and its trove of 54 electoral votes. Polls show the race tightening on the West Coast, where Bush has been outspending Vice President Al Gore in recent weeks. Gore now plans a return visit of his own to the state this week. NPR's Andy Bowers is based in Southern California and has been following the presidential campaign.

William Marcus of Montana Public Radio profiles Pete Fromm author of How All This Started, his latest book. The book describes the heart-wrenching struggles of a family dealing with manic depression, and the intuitive bond between a brother and his sister. (7:00) {Stations: Pete Fromm's latest book How All This Started is published by Picador USA; ISBN: 0312209339}

Republican leaders in Congress today vowed to stay and fight for their versions of the last few spending bills still pending before adjournment. President Clinton has threatened to veto the bills in current form because the spending levels and various policy changes are not to his liking. That means the legislators might not get out of town before Election Day a week from tomorrow. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from London on the worst storm to hit Britain in a decade. Heavy rain and high winds swept across southern England and northern France causing numerous flight delays and major disruptions at airports and ground transportation. So far at least three people have been killed.

Democrat Al Gore held a old-fashioned political rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin today. Won by Democrats in each of the last three presidential elections, the state is being hotly contested by Republican George Bush as Green Party nominee Ralph Nader siphons liberal votes away from the Democratic Party. NPR's Anthony Brooks is with the Gore campaign.

A remembrance for comedian Steve Allen, who has died of an apparent heart attack at the age of 78. Allen was a pioneer of late night TV, as the original host of The Tonight Show on NBC in 1954. His prolific career in entertainment also included record albums, movies, Broadway shows, work as a disc jockey and forty books.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports from Rome that an Italian cardinal has denounced the growing popularity of Halloween as an unwelcome foreign import. Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini urged Italian children to follow traditional Catholic rituals honoring the dead tomorrow, November first -- when the Church celebrates as All Saints' Day. Italian sociologists worry about a revival of witchcraft. Until a few years ago, Halloween was unknown in Italy. This year, jack-o-lanterns adorn shop windows, and children are dressing up as witches and vampires.

Both Democrat Al Gore and Republican George W. Bush say they support a patients' bill of rights, and both make the issue part of the daily stump speeches. But while Gore has been very specific about his support for a bill that is stalled in Congress, Bush has kept avoided talk of too many details. As NPR's Julie Rovner reports, Bush's generalities about the issues sometimes conflict with one another, but not so much as to roil voters.

Robert talks to NPR's Eric Westervelt about the dismissal of attempted murder and assault charges against two New Jersey state troopers in a 1988 shooting on the New Jersey Turnpike. In dismissing the charges, the judge said prosecutors had abused their power and used unfair tactics. The troopers -- both white -- had argued that they fired in self defense injuring three of four men in a van they had pulled over for speeding. All four of those men are minorities. The case raised concerns about racial profiling. A remaining indictment against the troopers alleges the troopers tried to hid information about the race of the motorists.