Thursday, September 25, 2008

AMERICA'S HOSTS: Steve Inskeep and Linda Wertheimer; NEWSCASTS: Paul Brown, Jean Cochran
CALIFORNIA/NEVADA HOST: Donna Apidone; NEWSCASTS: Steve Shadley

Here are some highlights of today's show:

California's long overdue budget is finally in place.  There's a new rule in the spending plan -- the state calls it "a simple paperwork change" that will save money.  But critics say it could cause thousands of low-income children to lose their healthcare.  KXJZ's health care reporter Kelley Weiss reports at 6:33 and 8:33.

President Bush yesterday said the country faces a severe economic crisis. The speech followed a second day of hearings on Capitol Hill with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke facing tough questions from lawmakers. Some members of Congress are pushing the White House to accept a smaller bailout of 150 billion dollars.  More at 6:10 and 8:10.

John McCain yesterday made a surprising gesture when he temporarily suspended his campaign to help work on the bailout plan. The Arizona senator also proposed delaying tomorrow's first presidential debate. We'll examine the politics behind McCain s move, and Obama s response, this morning at 5:10 and 7:10.

While John McCain and Barack Obama are dealing with the economy and campaigning, the vice presidential nominees have been talking about foreign policy. Republican Sarah Palin has been meeting world leaders in New York City. Democrat Joseph Biden yesterday spoke in Cincinnati about his in-depth knowledge of foreign policy.  We'll hear about their travels at 5:40 and 7:40.

Thanks for listening.