NPR 2008-09-29

President Bush is praising the bipartisan financial rescue plan worked out in negotiations 1 with the administration. He said he knows the vote on the measure will be difficult for lawmakers, but he's confident it will be approved. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the bill includes a number of provisions to keep Wall Street firms and their executives from profiting from the bailout. "We sent a message to Wall Street. The party is over. The era of golden parachutes for high-flying Wall Street operators is over." The New York Times reports one of the last changes included in the bill would allow the government to recoup any losses incurred 2 from the bailout after five years from the financial community.

GOP presidential nominee 3 John McCain says he will swallow hard and support the financial rescue bill. NPR's Scott Coarsely reports.

John McCain says despite its high price tag, the financial rescue plan worked out over the weekend meets his conditions for oversight 4 and taxpayer 5 protection. McCain told ABC it's important to get the plan off the negotiating table and passed quickly. "The real effectiveness is gonna restore some confidence and get some credit out there and get the economic system moving again which is basically in gridlock today." McCain dramatically left the campaign trail last week to join the negotiations in Washington, a move House Republicans applauded and some Democrats 6 called counter-productive. McCain spent much of Saturday phoning Republicans urging them to support the rescue. Scott Coarsely, NPR News, Washington.

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is also expressing support for the rescue plan. At a rally in Detroit today, Obama called the financial mess an outrage 7 coming as many Americans are facing tough times. "Nowhere had there been more difficult than in Michigan, nowhere had there been more difficult than in Detroit. The auto-industry knows something about our hard times. So I know it's been hard." Obama told the crowd that if he wins Michigan, he's convinced he'll win the election.

Hurricane Kyle is plowing 8 northward 9 in the Atlantic and is expected to make landfall in eastern Canada sometime tonight or early tomorrow. The storm will not directly hit Maine but tropical storm warnings are posted there. From Maine Public Radio, Tom Porter has more.

The approach of Hurricane Kyle has led to emergency preparations on the stretch of coast known as Down East running from Penobscot Bay which is about halfway 10 of the state to the Canadian border. In this rugged 11 sparsely 12 populated stretch of New England, lobstermen are moving their boats into sheltered coast out of harm's way wherever possible. Winds are expected to reach 60 miles per hour. The last time a hurricane watch was posted in Maine was when Hurricane Bob paid a visit in 1991. For NPR News, this is Tom Porter in Brunswick Maine.

Flood watches are in effect from New Hampshire to Maine as the hurricane brushes up the eastern seaboard.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Gasoline prices are down nearly four cents a gallon over the past two weeks. Self-service regular now averages $3.66 a gallon nationwide. Industry analyst 13, Truby Lundberg. "Most cities saw lower prices in the past two weeks. The biggest drop we found in our sample with Little Rock, Arkansas down 31 cents." Lundberg expects prices at the pump to decline further over the next few weeks.

Gas stations in parts of the southeast are still short on fuel as worried drivers keep topping off their tanks. One of the cities most affected 14 is Atlanta. From Georgia Public Broadcasting, Susanna Capelouto reports.

Driving around Atlanta, you see gas station after gas station with blank signs and when there is gas, long lines will tell. Eric Rockliff tried to beat the system to fill up his Ford 15 Expedition. "I set my alarm for 2:45 am, and jumped into my car looking for gas." Through networking and texting with friends, he knew that QT stations were likely to have gas. "The one closest to my house, even at 3 am, had cars lined up in the street in both directions." Rockliff knew of another QT down the street and got lucky no lines. This hit-and-miss situation officials say is caused by a shortage of supply from Gulf 16 refineries 17 still reeling from hurricane shutdowns. For NPR News, I am Susanna Capelouto in Atlanta.

Voters in Ecuador have approved by a two to one margin 18 a new constitution for the country, a constitution that will significantly expand the powers of the country's leftist President Raphael Correa. He'll also be allowed to run for two more consecutive 19 terms in office. Correa called the vote a historic victory. Critics say the new constitution gives the president too much authority.