Newscast for Thursday, October 4, 2012

Obama, Romney and Lehrer omit climate change from presidential debate

President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney faced off Wednesday night in the first debate of the general election. Though the debate was billed as addressing domestic policy, it covered a narrow range of topics, mainly taxes, health care and energy. There was no mention of reproductive rights, LGBT rights, immigration or the Supreme Court. Fact checkers later highlighted a number of inaccurate and misleading statements from Romney, including repeating long disproved claims about a “government takeover of healthcare” and denying his own plan to cut taxes for the wealthy. The candidates also sparred over subsidies for both fossil fuels and renewable energy sources, but neither mentioned climate change once. This glaring omission comes during a year of both extreme weather and extreme resistance, as environmental advocates carry out protest actions outside the debates and in the path of oil pipelines. FSRN’s Alice Ollstein has more.

In Denver, Green Party ticket, Occupy activists protest exclusion of third parties from debates

Last night in Denver, activists and members of the Occupy Movement gathered to protest Governor Romney and President Obama, who some call the corporate candidates of the American empire. Green Presidential candidate, Jill Stein and Vice Presidential candidate, Cheri Honkala joined them at a rally, held at McWilliams Park and participants then marched to the University of Denver. FSRN’s Jim Pullen was there and brings you the voices of participants and the Green Party Ticket, including Stein, Honkala, as well as Rhonda, a nurse from Longmont and Chelise Thomas, an Occupy activist from Denver.

New Mexico’s Latino voters consider US Senate candidates in a race flooded with dark money

Republicans are trying to win back the US Senate and one race they’re eyeing is In New Mexico. The state has the highest proportion of Latino voters in the country – about 39% according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Some Republican and Democratic officials see the dynamics driving this Senate race as representing a model for the future in many other states around the country. For more we spoke with Alexa Schirtzinger, editor of the Santa Fe Reporter.

Activists in Kashmir fight government attack on transparency law

In Indian administered Kashmir, Anti-corruption activists and everyday residents have been taking advantage of a law passed three years ago that empowered citizens to seek information from public officials. But a recent amendment to the Right to Information Act will now make it more difficult for those fighting wrongdoing. Shahnawaz Khan has more.