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Tuesday, October 2, 2012


The choice we face


Dear Dorothy,

Never in my lifetime has my vote -- and your vote -- been more powerful than it is this year.

You and I have the choice between President Obama, who signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act as his very first bill, and Mitt Romney, who can't even say whether he would have signed it into law.

We have the choice between President Obama, who believes women should be able to make our own decisions about our health care, and Mitt Romney, whose party platform -- which was written at the direction of his campaign -- includes a plank supporting a constitutional amendment to ban abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. He would turn women's health decisions over to our bosses, and let them deny employees access to contraception. 

And we have the choice between someone who is working to make sure women can afford health care for ourselves and our families and someone who has promised to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Day One.

Any one of these basic facts would be reason enough to vote -- and there are dozens more. 

The truth is that Mitt Romney is the candidate representing the backlash against all the social justice and environmental gains that we've made. The question is only this: Will the majority vote? Or will too many fall for the propaganda that our voices don't matter?

Take a look at this video to hear from a few of the women who are standing with President Obama this November -- then share it with your friends and family.

Video: Women's Voices - Join Women for Obama

You and I hold the key to this election.

Whether we want to control our own bodies, or we want equal respect and pay for equal work, one thing has always been true: Change isn't about party labels, and it doesn't happen from the top down. Like a tree, real and lasting change grows from the ground up.

So watch this video, then pass it on. It's up to us to vote for our own dignity, our own rights, and our own future:

http://my.barackobama.com/Womens-Voices

We are half this country. Every issue in this election is a women's issue. Our country and our future depend on you and me.

With friendship,

Gloria



Ann Romney: Debate will highlight contrast between candidates



LITTLETON, Colo. – On the eve of the first presidential debate, Ann Romney said Tuesday that the debate will highlight the "contrast" between her husband and President Barack Obama.
"We are excited about that," she said of the debate. "We're focused. And I can't wait for the contrast that we're going to hear tomorrow."
Romney's remarks echo messaging from advisers to her husband, Republican nominee Mitt Romney, as pressure builds for him to deliver Wednesday.
"I think the governor sees it as an opportunity to draw out the very clear choices and the very clear contrast that he wants to offer to voters yet to make up their mind," senior adviser Kevin Madden told reporters.
Several recent polls have shown Romney trailing Obama, although the race remains close. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday shows Obama three points ahead among likely voters, 49 to 46 percent, which is within the poll's margin of error.
Littleton, where Ann Romney spoke Tuesday, is about 10 miles south of Denver, where Wednesday's debate will be held.
Though Ann Romney said her husband "doesn't fail" and that he "knows how to do turnarounds," most of her speech Tuesday focused on his character.
Saying she is grateful for others who are tired of hearing the former Massachusetts governor "mischaracterized," Ann Romney recounted the story of her husband comforting a 14-year-old boy named David Oparowski who was dying of Hodgkin’s disease.
Pat and Ted Oparowski, David's parents, met the Romney family through their LDS church near Boston and told their story at the Republican National Convention in August. Mitt Romney helped their son craft a will, they said at the convention, and at David’s request, gave his eulogy.
"That is where Mitt is when someone's in trouble," Ann Romney said. "He's there, he's by the bedside. Right now, the country's in trouble. We need someone that cares."




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Landing in Colorado on Monday night, Mitt Romney was greeted by the endorsement of John Elway at his only scheduled event ahead of Wednesday's first debate. The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd reports.
Breaking down Obama’s and Romney’s vulnerabilities heading into tomorrow’s debate… Romney says he won’t revoke temporary visas for qualified young illegal immigrants… A Tale of Two Mitts: playing to the base in his stump speeches, while courting the middle in his interviews… Two new national polls: CNN has it Obama 50%, Romney 47%; Quinnipiac has it Obama 49%, Romney 45%... It’s NBC/WSJ poll day!!!... 35 states, including Ohio, are now voting… Missteps for both Brown and Warren at last night’s debate… And RGA announces raising $15 million in 3rd quarter.
As both presidential candidates prep for their first debate on Wednesday night, Mitt Romney spent his first and only event ahead of tomorrow's debate at a museum in Denver, Colo.. Meanwhile, President Obama hunkered down for a more low-key pre-debate schedule in Las Vegas. NBC's Chuck Todd reports.
*** Breaking down the vulnerabilities: Heading into tomorrow night’s first presidential debate, both President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney have two big vulnerabilities that his opponent can exploit. And it’s safe to say that whichever candidate better addresses his vulnerabilities will have more success in Wednesday’s debate. For Obama, one of his vulnerabilities is that he hasn’t fully described what a second term would look like. Yes, in both his convention speech and his two-minute TV ad, he’s mentioned things like adding a million new manufacturing jobs and hiring 100,000 new math and science teachers. But how does he accomplish those things? Where does something like comprehensive immigration reform fit in? And given the fact there is some hunger for change, what change can the incumbent promise that will seem credible? Obama’s second vulnerability -- which he really didn’t mention in his convention speech -- is to explain how his re-election would break the partisan fever in Washington. As he admitted in his recent “60 Minutes” interview, “I'm the first one to confess that the spirit that I brought to Washington, that I wanted to see instituted … I haven't fully accomplished that -- haven't even come close in some cases. And you know, if you ask me what's my biggest disappointment is that we haven't changed the tone in Washington as much as I would have liked.”

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
President Barack Obama, left, delivers pizzas for campaign volunteers during a visit to a local campaign office, Monday, Oct. 1, 2012 in Henderson, Nev.
*** Two for Obama, two for Romney: For Mitt Romney, a big vulnerability is that he hasn’t differentiated his economic policies from George W. Bush’s. Yes, in interview after interview, he has said he’ll pursue a different path, but out of the five principles in his economic message -- 1) take advantage of domestic energy resources, 2) give Americans the job skills they need, 3) forge new trade agreements, 4) balance the budget, and 5) reduce taxes -- Bush aggressively acted on ALL OF THEM save balancing the budget. Romney’s other big vulnerability is his lack of specificity: He has yet to say how he’ll pay for his big tax cuts. In fact, here’s what he said yesterday to a Denver TV affiliate. “What we’re going to do is bring down the rates for everybody, and at the same time we’re going to limit deductions and credits and so forth for people at the high end.” Pressed for specifics, Romney added: “As an option you could say everybody’s going to get up to a $17,000 deduction; and you could use your charitable deduction, your home mortgage deduction, or others… And higher income people might have a lower number. Or you could do it by the same method that Bowles-Simpson did it where you could limit certain deductions, but that’s the sort of thing you do with Congress.”
*** Romney says he won’t revoke temporary visas for qualified young illegal immigrants: But Romney did get more specific on one issue: President Obama’s announcement that his administration would no longer deport qualified young illegal immigrants. After being pressed -- for almost four months -- on what he’d do about Obama’s action, Romney finally told the Denver Post yesterday he wouldn’t revoke their temporary visas. "The people who have received the special visa that the president has put in place, which is a two-year visa, should expect that the visa would continue to be valid. I'm not going to take something that they've purchased," he said. "Before those visas have expired we will have the full immigration reform plan that I've proposed."
*** A Tale of Two Mitts: So, on the one hand, you have Romney saying in recent interviews that he won’t revoke Obama’s executive action on young illegal immigrants, that he’s the “grandfather of Obamacare,” and that he’s empathetic because he was able to get all Massachusetts residents health insurance. But on the other hand, one of us saw -- firsthand -- all the conservative red meat he gave at his rally in Denver last night. Solyndra. Card check. Keystone. Even a shout-out to Focus on the Family. Indeed, you can see his stump speeches as his play to the base, while his media interviews are his courting of the middle. Perhaps that’s the correct balance, but the courting of the middle is still only VERY recent.
*** Two new national polls: There are two new national polls that find the presidential race in pretty much the same place among likely voters. CNN has it at Obama 50%, Romney 47%, andQuinnipiac has it Obama 49%, Romney 45%. The number that’s fluid is Romney’s, not Obama’s. Are we seeing some natural tightening with Romney’s number? The end of Obama’s month-long bounce? But the number to watch has always been Obama’s: If he’s at 49% or 50%, that’s a winning number in this election. There were two bounces in the last month -- one for Obama and one for Romney (in the wrong direction). What these national polls show is that Obama’s bounce is holding; Romney’s negative bounce, to Boston’s relief, is disappearing.
*** It’s NBC/WSJ day!!! And speaking of national polls, we will debut a brand-new NBC/WSJ survey at 6:30 pm ET. Will our numbers be similar to CNN’s and Quinnipiac’s? Or will they be different? How big of an impact did Romney’s “47%” comment have on the electorate? Be sure to tune in for the answers. And by the way, don’t miss Ron Brownstein’s explanation why Obama appears to be over-performing in the swing states: He’s running “considerably better than he is nationally among white women without a college education.” Brownstein adds, “Obama’s gains with these so-called ‘waitress moms’ are especially pronounced in heartland battlegrounds like Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin.”
*** 35 states now voting: With early in-person voting beginning today in Ohio and absentee ballots going out in the Buckeye State as well as Florida and New York, voting is now underway in 35 states across the country, per NBC’s Kyle Inskeep. And that includes the battlegrounds of Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Virginia. Two more states -- Connecticut and California -- will begin early voting later this week.   
*** On the trail: With the presidential candidates in debate prep, the VPs and spouses hit the trail: Biden stumps in Charlotte, NC at 11:10 am ET and Asheville at 3:30 pm ET, while First Lady Michelle Obama hits Cincinnati, OH… And Paul Ryan, remaining in Iowa, campaigns in Clinton, Muscatine, and Burlington, while Ann Romney holds a rally in Littleton, CO.
*** Missteps for both Brown and Warren: In last night’s debate between Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren -- moderated by NBC’s David Gregory -- both candidates made missteps. Gregory asked Warren which Republicans she could work across the aisle, per MSNBC’s Michael LaRosa, and she responded that Sen. Dick Lugar would be one of them. "He's not going to be there," Brown and Gregory both responded of the Indiana GOP senator, who lost his primary earlier this year. Meanwhile, LaRosa adds that Brown drew stunned reaction from the crowd when he was asked about his model Supreme Court Justice. His answer: "Justice Scalia is a very good judge.” Those words were met with loud boos. "Justice Kennedy, Roberts, Justice Sotomayor are also good justices," Brown continued, along with the audience reaction. Here’s the Boston Globe’s take on the debate: “Senate candidates make some illuminating stumbles.”  
*** RGA raises nearly $15 million in the quarter: The Republican Governors Association says that it raised nearly $15 million in the 3rd fundraising quarter, and that it has raked in almost $44 million for the year. To put those numbers into perspective, the RGA raised $7 million in the 3rd quarter of 2008, and it hauled in $22 million for the year to date in '08.
Countdown to 1st presidential debate: 1 day
Countdown to VP debate: 9 days
Countdown to 2nd presidential debate: 14 days
Countdown to 3rd presidential debate: 20 days
Countdown to Election Day: 35 days

No human remains found at Michigan site of Jimmy Hoffa tests



Jerry Siskind / AFP - Getty Images file
Jimmy Hoffa and his son, James P. Hoffa, who later also became president of the Teamsters, in a 1971 photo.
Updated at 3:40 p.m. ET: Soil tests indicate that no human remains are buried beneath a shed in Roseville, Mich., where authorities were investigating the possibility that the late Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa might have been buried, officials said.
Scientists at Michigan State University tested two samples from a home in Roseville, a suburb of Detroit, after an unidentified tipster told authorities that he witnessed a body being buried there the day after Hoffa disappeared in July 1975. 
Those tests came up negative for human remains, Roseville police said Tuesday.
The lead appears to be yet another dead end in the search for Hoffa, who ran the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the country's biggest labor union, from 1957 to 1971. It joins a long line of false leads that have fueled conspiracy theories for years.

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Investigators searching for the remains of notorious Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa have come up dry after pursuing a lead in suburban Detroit. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
Investigators and other experts had said that they doubted that Hoffa was at the site.
Andy Arena, the former FBI special agent in charge for Detroit, said that while his "gut feeling is that this person saw something," it defies common sense to believe that the Mafia would have buried the body in broad daylight in a busy suburban area.
"If this guy was standing there watching this, and it was Jimmy Hoffa, he would have been in the hole with him," Arena said.
Dan Moldea, author of "The Hoffa Wars" and numerous other books on organized crime, also said he "never thought that Hoffa was here, ever."

PA State Judge Blocks Voter-ID Legislation

By KRIS MAHER
A Pennsylvania state judge on Tuesday blocked the state's voter-identification law from taking effect in time for the November election.
Pennsylvania Judge Blocks Voter-ID Law
A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday blocked the state's controversial voter-identification law from taking effect in time for the November election. Kris Maher has details on Lunch Break. Photo: Getty Images.



A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday blocked the state's controversial voter-identification law from taking effect in time for the November election. Kris Maher has details on Lunch Break. Photo: Getty Images.
Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson said he thought the measure, which would have required voters to show a photo ID at the polls, could have kept some people from voting, as the law's opponents had argued.
"I'm still not convinced in my predictive judgment that there will be no voter disenfranchisement," Judge Simpson wrote. While delaying implementation of the law, the judge said he didn't find a problem with requiring photo IDs generally. He also directed the state to continue its $5 million campaign to educate people that the photo IDs will be required in the future.
State officials indicated they wouldn't appeal the ruling. Voters will be asked to show identification on Nov. 6 but people without it will still be able to vote, said Carol Aichele, the Pennsylvania secretary of state.
The ruling was a victory for groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, which had sued to block the law, and a blow to state Republicans, who had passed it in March over Democrats' opposition.
As the case moved through the state courts, the legal focus shifted from a broad argument over whether the law was constitutional to whether its implementation would prevent any registered voters from casting a ballot this fall.

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See a state-by-state breakdown of voter-identification requirements.
Republican Gov. Tom Corbett said the state would continue "to make sure every registered voter has the proper identification in an effort to preserve the integrity of our voting process in Pennsylvania."
David Gersch, a Washington lawyer who represented the plaintiffs in the case, called the ruling "a big win in that you can still vote without ID in November." He said a future challenge to the law could focus on problems that elderly and disabled voters recently reported in obtaining IDs, but added, "It's premature to say what that trial will look like."
Pennsylvania's law was among the strictest of 31 voter-ID measures in place around the U.S. In other cases, states have mailed the necessary IDs to all voters or have said people can sign affidavits at the polls attesting to their identities if they forget to bring IDs.
Pennsylvania Republicans have said the law was intended to prevent voter fraud, while Democrats have said they believed it would have disproportionately affected poor urban voters and others more likely to vote for President Barack Obama and other Democrats.
Pennsylvania estimated earlier this year that 89,000 voters, or about 1%, might lack an acceptable ID. The state has issued roughly 11,000 voter IDs since the law was passed in March, and in September it eased some requirements for obtaining one.
Judge Simpson previously rejected claims that the law would prevent some people from voting, and he refused to block the law when it first came before him in August. Last month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered him to block the law unless he determined there would be no voter disenfranchisement and that new state voter IDs are easy to obtain.
In the most recent hearing, voters testified that they had trouble getting a new ID the state began offering in August. One voter said she made two 80-minute round trips to a driver's license center but couldn't get an ID because she lives with someone else and had no proof of residency.

Poll Shows Slim Obama Lead

As Debates Begin, President Gains With Hispanic Voters, Romney With Men

October 2, 2012


Most People Don't See Debates as Game-Changing
Less than half of registered voters say the presidential debates will be important in helping them decide whether to back Romney or President Obama, according to the latest WSJ/NBC poll. Danny Yadron has details on The News Hub. (Photo: Getty Images)
10/2/2012 4:50:38 PM3:12

Less than half of registered voters say the presidential debates will be important in helping them decide whether to back Romney or President Obama, according to the latest WSJ/NBC poll. Danny Yadron has details on The News Hub. (Photo: Getty Images)
President Barack Obama heads into the first presidential debate with a narrow lead over Mitt Romney in a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News nationwide poll that illustrates each candidate's strengths and weaknesses entering the campaign's final stretch.

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Associated Press
President Obama visited the Hoover Dam Tuesday in Boulder City, Nev.
The survey shows the race tightening, with Mr. Obama now leading 49% to 46% among likely voters, down slightly from the five-point lead he enjoyed in mid-September, just after the two parties' conventions. The survey of likely voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Mr. Obama maintains commanding leads among Hispanics, young voters and women, with his share of the crucial Hispanic bloc appearing only to widen. A whopping 71% of likely Hispanic voters said they plan to vote for Mr. Obama.
Mr. Romney holds a strong margin of support among white voters and men, and he appears to be gaining a little strength among the college educated. His strengths there, though, aren't sufficient at this point to offset weaknesses elsewhere.

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Mr. Romney's challenge as he prepares for the first of three debates is whether he can chip into Mr. Obama's strongholds, particularly women. The question for Mr. Obama is whether he can translate his support among Hispanics, the young and African-Americans into actual votes, while minimizing the erosion of support for him among white voters.
The poll of 1,000 registered voters found 832 who were likely to vote in November. Mr. Obama led by a wider margin, 51% to 44%, among all registered voters surveyed, a number that is less indicative of what voters will do on Election Day. That lead was up from 50% to 44% in mid-September.
While finding a generally tight presidential race, the poll showed a surprising rise in public support for the idea of the same party controlling both Congress and the White House—evidence, perhaps, of deep frustration over partisan gridlock in Washington.
As a rule, voters tend to say they prefer that power in Washington be split between the two parties. For the first time in Journal polling going back to the mid-1980s, a majority of voters—52%—in the new survey threw their support behind one-party rule, with the strongest backing coming from partisans in either party. Nearly seven in 10 Democrats, and six in 10 Republicans, backed the idea.
Two years ago, just 29% of voters supported the concept. In a general-election year, support for one-party dominance tends to go up as partisans of each side see hope they can win both the White House and control of Congress. Still, the tendency is more pronounced than usual this year.
As a result, Senate and House candidates could find their fortunes bound more tightly than usual to the fates of their party's presidential candidate.



Three Things To Know About The New WSJ/NBC Poll
WSJ's Aaron Zitner breaks down the top three things to know about the new WSJ/NBC News poll released Tuesday. The race is tightening while support for single party rule in Washington grows. Via WSJ's #WorldStream.

WSJ's Aaron Zitner breaks down the top three things to know about the new WSJ/NBC News poll released Tuesday. The race is tightening while support for single party rule in Washington grows. Via WSJ's #WorldStream.
Mark Harrod, a 39-year-old independent from Jacksonville, Fla., said he longs for a return to the "Clinton days or the Reagan days, when people actually worked together." But because he believes neither party is willing to do that, the construction worker says he thinks Democrats should get another shot at running Washington.
"Maybe they'd get more done. Then there'd be no more excuses," Mr. Harrod said.
Rob Adrian, a Romney supporter from Plainfield, Ill., shares the impatience with Washington. His dream: Give Republicans at least two years to run the country unencumbered by Democratic opposition.
"We are so close to going over the cliff," he said. "I would really like to see the House, the Senate and the White House do away with what I believe are extremely bad decisions."
The last time the Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the White House was during the first two years of the Obama administration. Republicans also controlled both Congress and the White House briefly during the Bush administration.



Presidential Debates: Why the Little Things Matter
The Journal's Jerry Seib and moderators Bob Schieffer, Jim Lehrer, Carole Simpson and Candy Crowley examine the most consequential presidential debates of the past 52 years, when, so often, one moment defined a candidate's performance. Photo: ABC

The Journal's Jerry Seib and moderators Bob Schieffer, Jim Lehrer, Carole Simpson and Candy Crowley examine the most consequential presidential debates of the past 52 years, when, so often, one moment defined a candidate's performance. Photo: ABC
Mr. Romney has managed to keep the presidential contest competitive despite a month that did little to burnish his standing in voters' eyes. More than half of the registered voters said they had a less-favorable impression of his campaign after all they had seen and read over the past couple of weeks, compared with 36% who said that of Mr. Obama.
Asked about Mr. Romney's widely aired comments to a donors' dinner that 47% of the country paid no taxes and saw themselves as victims, 45% said the remarks made them view Mr. Romney more negatively.
Yet the poll offered evidence of Mr. Romney's continued resilience as conservatives and the Republican Party faithful rally to his side.
"Romney is like the Timex watch—he takes a licking, but he keeps on ticking," said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, who conducted the poll along with Republican Bill McInturff.
Much of Mr. Romney's continued traction in the race appears to stem from enduring voter apprehension toward the president, the poll shows. Mr. McInturff noted that white voters just before the 2008 election viewed Mr. Obama more positively than negatively by 10 percentage points. That reading has since swung to a 10-point gap on the negative side.
Overall, the poll showed the president's approval rating just below 50%, off from its 61% high in March 2009. "Barack Obama is not the same candidate as he was four years ago, after four years of the wear and tear of the presidency," Mr. McInturff said.
About four in 10 voters rated the three presidential debates as extremely or very important to their decision making, roughly on par with what voters said heading into past debates.
The poll contained signs of promise for the Obama campaign.
A majority of Americans still think the country is on the wrong track, but a larger number—57%, up from 50% in August—say the economy is improving. Just 13%, the lowest number since Mr. Obama took office, think the economy will get worse in the next four years.
Voters gave Mr. Obama higher marks over his rival on who has the clearer message and plan for what he would do if elected. A large majority, 65%, said Mr. Obama knows what he plans to do, compared with 52% who said that of Mr. Romney. The president also outpaced Mr. Romney on which candidate is seen as better prepared to lead over the next four years.
The president has preserved or strengthened his traction with voters since the summer on who would deal better with health care, Medicare, immigration and taxes. At the same time, Mr. Romney has lost ground since July on whom voters see as more likely to look out for the middle class, a core theme for both campaigns.
Mr. Romney has gained new ground on a number of fronts, including handling of foreign policy and dealing with the economy. Voters preferred the GOP challenger by healthy margins on how he would deal with the federal budget deficit and the economic challenge posed by China.
The poll found a strengthening of support for Mr. Romney among white men and college-educated voters.
But in a warning sign, Mr. Romney's support among likely Hispanic voters came in at just 21%. Republicans have widely predicted serious trouble for the Romney campaign if he can't get his support among Hispanics above 30%.
"The Hispanic numbers in this poll are a significant cautionary note, not just to Romney but across the Republican Party," said Mr. McInturff, the Republican pollster.
For the first time, the poll also tested voters on a ballot that included Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson, both of whom will appear on most state ballots.
With those names included, Mr. Obama led Mr. Romney, 48%-43%, among likely voters, with Mr. Johnson fetching 3% and Ms. Stein 2%.

The fragility of life in Syria's borderlands


Manu Brabo, a photographer for The Associated Press, took these photos in and around Azaz, a town in north west Syria close to the Turkish border. On Friday, a warplane bombed the town killing at least four people, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 

Manu Brabo / AP
Rada Hallabi, 4, who is sick with diabetes, lies on a blanket in a refugee camp on the border with Turkey, near Azaz village, Syria, on Sept. 30, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP
The body of a Syrian woman is seen near Azaz's hospital after being shot by a sniper in the countryside around Azaz, near the Turkish border with Syria, on Oct. 1, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP
A displaced Syrian woman and her grandson in a refugee camp In the border with Turkey, near Azaz village, Syria, Sept. 30, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP
A defaced portrait of President Bashar al Assad is seen in a school used as an emergency refugee camp in Souran village, near the Turkish border with Syria, on Oct. 1, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP
A displaced Syrian woman covers her face with a scarf in a school, where almost 15 families from Homs are living, in Souran, Syria, Oct. 1, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP
Syrian boys play near a refugee camp on the border with Turkey, near Azaz village, Syria, Sept. 30, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP
A displaced Syrian woman is seen in a building still under construction in an improvised refugee camp at the border with Turkey, near Azaz village, Syria, Sept. 30, 2012.
Reuters reports — With tens of thousands fleeing Syria every month, the number of refugees worldwide in 2012 is set to be the highest this century, according to a senior United Nations official.
Antonio Guterres, the body's High Commissioner for Refugees, told his UNHCR agency's executive committee Monday that its ability to cope was being stretched to the limit. Read the full story.