All Things Considered

As Isaac continues to pound the Gulf Coast from Louisiana east through Mississippi, Republicans gathered in Tampa for their 2012 national convention continue to strike a balance between going on with their politicking and partying while trying not to look indifferent to the suffering of others.

This year is on track to be the worst ever for West Nile virus in the United States. Here are the latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

• 1,590 reported cases, nearly 500 more than a week ago for a rise of 44 percent.
• 889 cases, or 56 percent, involve severe neurological disease.
• 66 deaths, compared to 41 last week.

There is growing international criticism over plans by Gambia's hard-line president to execute all of the country's death-row inmates within the next couple of weeks.

Gambia's leader, President Yahya Jammeh, has long faced criticism for his human rights record. In a recent speech marking the end of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, the president vowed to put to death all prisoners facing the death penalty by mid-September, as a way to curb crime.

Key speakers Tuesday include New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Ann Romney, the wife of the GOP presidential nominee.

One of the biggest debates in Washington, D.C., these days has nothing to do with taxes, health care or the economy. It's about baseball and whether the Washington Nationals should end the season of their young pitching star, Stephen Strasburg, just as the team may be headed for the playoffs.

Two years ago, Strasburg's promising career was threatened when he tore a ligament in his pitching arm. He needed surgery and couldn't pitch for a year.

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

Now, a non-story that's kicked off a very real conversation about race in America. In 2005, Congressman Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's vice presidential running mate, told a Milwaukee magazine that he has a black sister-in-law. He also said that in his bachelor past he had a black girlfriend. A CNN blogger gave the interview new life a few days ago. But what, if anything, does this glimpse into Ryan's past tell us about how inclusive his politics would be as vice president?

NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates went in search of some answers.

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Today, the Obama administration put new fuel standards in place. They're designed to nearly double how far average cars and light trucks will have to go on a gallon of gasoline.

As NPR's Elizabeth Shogren reports, the new standards have the backing of environmental groups and carmakers. And they've become a popular talking point in the presidential race.

A judge has given Ohio unions a preliminary injunction stopping a new state law that could endanger provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct, even if the cause is poll worker error.

Officials in Texas say they will cut off state funding to Planned Parenthood following a federal court ruling last week. The decision by a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says the state can defund the health clinics because Planned Parenthood is associated with abortion.

The late Stephane Grappelli is perhaps the best-known jazz violinist in history. His collaborations with guitarist Django Reinhardt have influenced countless musicians. A comparison to Grappelli is one of the highest honors a young, rising violinist can receive.

Every day at the convention in Tampa, Newt Gingrich — the former House Speaker and a former college professor — will hold a two hour policy workshop.