Korva Coleman

During a televised debate Thursday on Chicago's WTTW, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) reiterated his opposition to abortion in any circumstance. It's similar to the Republican Party's national platform, which doesn't have any exceptions for abortion in the case of rape or incest. Walsh is taking it a step further — banning abortion to save the life of the mother.

A huge explosion in central Beirut has killed at least eight people and wounded at least 78, state media in Lebanon are reporting, according to NPR's Kelly McEvers. The target of the bomb isn't clear, but Reuters says the blast occurred on the same street that's home to a political group that opposes Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Unsuspecting motorists got either a shiver or a laugh yesterday morning in Portland, Maine as they drove by a construction site whose warning sign had been hacked: instead of the typical caution, they were told 'Warning Zombies Ahead!'

Portland authorities are not amused.

"These (signs) are deployed and used as a safety precaution. They're not a toy," Portland spokeswoman Nicole Clegg told the Portland Press Herald. She says the prank is a crime.

RealtyTrac, an online industry group that follows the foreclosure market, says the number of foreclosed properties nationally dropped dramatically in September, down by seven percent from August. And the firm says since September 2011, foreclosures are down 16 percent — that's the lowest total since July 2007.

Drought conditions remain dreadful in much of the country; the Drought Monitor produced by the Drought Mitigation Center says 54.25 percent of the United States is in moderate drought or experiencing something more sinister. This includes "severe, extreme and exceptional", the worst categories in the drought conditions index.

Update at 3:00 p.m. ET. No Settlement Expected Today:

NPR's Ken Barcus says that no settlement is expected today. The most likely scenario is a contract vote sometime on Sunday, he says.

The Chicago Tribune reports quotes a union attorney who said that the outlines of an agreement are there, but a vote on ending the strike is not likely until Sunday.

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