NPR 2010-10-28

A Virginia man's charged with plotting to bomb the Washington D.C. subway system. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports, the FBI had been tracking Farooque Ahmed, who allegedly had been scoping out potential targets since spring.

Ahmed is alleged 1 to have actually gone to a number of different metro 2 stations and either diagram them or videotape them and try to look for places where he thought would be good places to plant bombs. This was someone who had dreamed up a scheme and the FBI sort of provided a way of his, allowing it to come to a little more fruition.

NPR's Dina Temple-Raston.

A new audio tape reported to be from al-Qaeda leader Osama bin 3 Laden 4 has surfaced on the Arabic Al Jazeera website. On the tape which could not be independently verified, the speaker threatens French citizens over their country's involvement in the US-led war in Afghanistan.

A federal judge in New Orleans has created the security zone around the Deepwater Horizon wreckage 6 site. The security area will extend about 750 feet from the wreck 5 and includes debris 7 from the sunken oil rig. More on this from NPR's Carrie Johnson.

The US Justice Department asked the court to protect the search area and to make sure that any evidence is preserved as part of its massive investigation 8 into the cause of the gusher 9. The Justice Department is conducting civil and criminal probes, and it recently informed companies involved in the wreck to stay away from the site. Authorities already have moved a critical piece of evidence, the blowout preventer, to a NASA site where it rests under guard. The US government may enforce the judge's order which extends until October, 2011. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington

It's a somber 10 day in Argentina where people are mourning the death of one of their most prominent leaders, former President Nestor Kirchner, husband to Argentina President Cristina Fernandez. Kirchner died today of an apparent heart attack, though he was known for having a history of heart problems. Political observers say many were still stunned 11 to hear of the 60-year-old's sudden death. Reporter Anny Morphy gives us a brief glimpse to Kirchner's controversial political life.

When Nestor Kirchner took office in 2003, Argentina was still reeling from the 2001 economic crisis. Under Kirchner's leadership, the country recovered political and economic stability. Originally from the Patagonia province of Santa Cruz, Kirchner started out as a lawyer. He later became a mayor, then governor, working his way up to the presidency 12. As head of state, he was known for speaking out against the IMF and private companies. He also supported justice reforms that brought about trials to address human rights violations 13 during the country's dictatorship. He was expected to run for president again in 2011. For NPR News, this is Anny Morphy.

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was down 44 points at 11,126.

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The storm system that brought hurricane-force winds, driving rain and snow to parts of the mid-western US, is now threatening more, the same in the southeast. A tornado 14 may have touched down in Vale, North Carolina. Three homes were damaged, 11 people were hurt.

The World Series starts tonight between two opponents without much championship pedigree. The San Francisco Giants host The Texas Rangers 15. The Giants haven't won the World Series since the team started playing in San Francisco in 1958. The Rangers have never even played in the World Series. From San Francisco, NPR's Tom Goldman has this preview.

Let's make this simple. Tonight’s game, one of the World Series, comes down to this - can The Giants do what no other team has done, beat Cliff Lee in the postseason. The Rangers’ left- handed starting pitcher 16 never has lost in the playoffs. The Giants believe they can do it based on very recent history. They beat Philadelphia's Roy Halliday in game one of the National League Championship Series. Halliday coming off a no-hitter was considered invincible 17. Giants center fielder Cody Ross who slammed two home runs against Halliday in that win says the approach will be the same tonight.

“You’ve got to be aggressive. They make a mistake; you can't miss it, because you probably are not gonna get another one.”

Texas's batters 18 won't have it easy. They'll be facing Giants' starter Tim Lincecum. He's won pitching Cy Young Award twice. Tom Goldman, NPR News, San Francisco

Big ticket items have gone up again. The Commerce Department says orders for durable 19 goods rose 3.3% last month, which was the best showing since January because of more demand for commercial aircraft, but disappointing results are among businesses which spent less on computers and other machinery 20.