NPR 2011-10-09

 Texas Congressman 1 Ron Paul is the winner of the non-binding GOP presidential straw poll taken at this weekend's Values Voters Summit of social conservatives. He pulled in 37% of the votes. NPR's Don Gonyea reports Paul's strong showing is not a surprise, considering the venue 2.

 
We used to Ron Paul winning the straw polls at conferences. It's a relatively 3 small universe, just shy of 2,000 people voted in this one. And Ron Paul gets people to turn out in a lot of time, such as young people, college kids. They even get bust 4 in, they come, and they vote and they leave. They are not the usual conference participant, so that's what helped Ron Paul win. And as he's done so often, he finishes much stronger, 37% in this case, than he does in general state-by-state or nationwide poll.
 
NPR's Don Gonyea reporting. Georgia businessman Herman Cain came in second while former Senator Rick Santorum placed third.
 
It's been six weeks since anti-government forces took control of the Libyan capital of Tripoli. But revolutionary forces are running into fierce opposition 5 as they try to take Muammar Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte. That has stymied 6 transition efforts toward democracy. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro is following developments in Sirte from Tripoli.
 
The fighting now centers around the Ouagadougou conference center and the Mauritanian Quarter as it's known. Anti-Gaddafi fighters are alleging 7 that there are foreign mercenaries holed up there, and those are the people who are putting up the fiercest resistance. They are using artillery 8. They are using tank fire to try and get into the center of the city. But it's been increasingly difficult, and it seems right now that the offensive has stalled. Anti-Gaddafi fighters basically have Sirte in circle. They are coming in from the east, they are coming in from the west, and they are coming in from the south, though remaining civilians 9 in the city say that there is no electricity, there's no food, there's no water, and there is limited access to medical care. Essentially 10 there is a humanitarian 11 crisis that has unfolded in the city of Sirte as these fierce clashes continue. 
 
NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reporting.
 
Britain's defense 12 secretary is pledging to keep up NATO air strikes even after Sirte's fall as long as the remnants of the regime post a risk to civilians.
 
Sunny weather is usually a welcome sign for farmers needing to harvest their crops. But in parts of the Midwest, there's been too much heat. That's prompted red flag warnings. New England Public Radio's Anne Mostue is in Minnesota, where she says conditions are unusual.
 
Temperatures are in the 70s this week. People are walking out in t-shirts in northern Minnesota, which I have never seen before. It's very warm, it's very dry, and the wind gusts 13 are as much as 40 miles an hour right now. So it's very windy.
 
Fires are burning in several states.
 
This is NPR News.
 
Smithsonian officials say they expect the National Air and Space Museum will be opened tomorrow. Authorities shut down the popular museum today after anti-war demonstrators tried to enter the building to protest a drone exhibit. Drones are the unmanned aircraft used by the US government to track and attack insurgents 14 overseas. A Smithsonian official says one person was arrested during the melee 15 that involved between 100 and 200 protesters as well as six guards.
 
Pianist Roger Williams died early this morning at his home in Los Angeles. NPR's Jeff Brady reports Williams revealed earlier this year he had pancreatic cancer. 
 
Roger Williams' biggest hit came in 1955 with his performance of the tune 16 "Autumn Leaves." It topped the Billboard 17 pop charts and stayed there for four weeks. Williams played for nine presidents and was an advocate for increasing music instruction in schools. Williams died of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 87 years old. His personal assistant says at the time of his death, he had three album projects in the works. Jeff Brady, NPR News.
 
NFL commissioner 18 Roger Goodell calls Al Davis a "true legend" of the game. The longtime Oakland Raiders' owner and Hall of Famer has died. Davis was 82. He reportedly died at his Oakland home this morning. He was a key player in the AFL-NFL merger 19 and broke racial and gender 20 barriers while running the Raiders. A black flag with the team logo is flying at half-staff at Raiders headquarters.