NPR News

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Debate Preview: Obama And Romney Shadow Box On '60 Minutes'.

-- 'Amazing Scene' As Riot Shuts Foxconn Plant In China.

The first official presidential debate isn't until Oct. 3 in Denver. But as The New York Times writes, last night on CBS News' 60 Minutes there was something of a "shadow debate that offered a likely preview of the tone and substance" of what will happen on stage next week.

Sunday's sad news about the death of a giant panda cub that was just less than a week old is being followed this morning with reports about how the staff at Washington's National Zoo tried hard to save it and have been hit hard by its death.

At one point overnight as many as 2,000 workers at a Foxconn plant in Taiyuan, China, were involved in a riot that drew 5,000 police officers to the site and has closed the facility that makes parts for Apple's iPhones and hardware for other companies including Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard.

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Good morning. I'm David Greene. Sandy Crocker has gone more than 500 miles for love. The Canadian man was touring in Ireland when he met a freckled woman with reddish brown hair. They spoke for a couple minutes at a café, then she left. Back in Canada, he was heartbroken.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I'M GONNA BE (500 MILES)")

THE PROCLAIMERS: (Singing) But I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more...

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This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

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And I'm Steve Inskeep. A riot involving at least 2,000 workers broke out late last night at a Foxconn facility in northern China, where employees make iPhones. Foxconn says about 40 people went to the hospital with injuries. Now, in recent years Foxconn has come under intense scrutiny for the working conditions in its factories. Now we have this episode, so we're bringing in NPR's Frank Langfitt, who's following the story from Shanghai.

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The city of Nuevo Laredo, which hugs the border of south Texas, is the latest hotspot in Mexico's violent drug war. Over the past two weeks, over 70 people have been killed there in drug-related violence. Monica Ortiz Uribe from member station KJZZ visited the city and she found a community terrified and afraid to even speak.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (Foreign language spoken)

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The Dow Jones industrial average may be the most famous barometer of stock market sentiment. It's not a broad measure. Only 30 stocks are in the Dow and this elite group of big blue chip companies supposedly represents the health of the U.S. economy. So, it is noteworthy when a company is kicked off the Dow or allowed in.

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It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

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And I'm David Greene.

It's the final week before the debates begin and the presidential candidates are stepping up their campaigning as they try to shake loose what polls are still showing to be a very tight race. We'll hear about one of those polls of rural voters in just a minute. But first, both President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney appeared last night on the CBS program "60 Minutes."