Transcript

REBECCA ROBERTS, host: This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Rebecca Roberts.

HERMAN CAIN: We must grow this economy with a bold solution, which is why I have proposed 999.

Governor RICK PERRY: I think Americans are so untrustworthy of what's going on in Washington is because they never see a cut in spending.

MITT ROMNEY: You want to have someone who's smart, who has experience, who knows how the financial services sector works, who knows how to protect American jobs, and I do. I've done it.

Taking a cue from the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, protesters across the world took to the streets Saturday to demonstrate against what they say is corporate greed, the banks and government austerity cuts.

Organizers of the global protests say there will be demonstrations in 951 cities in 82 countries. On their website, the organizers say they're demanding change and to let politicians and the financial elite know it's up to the people to decide the future.

By Gillian Ferris Kohl

Flagstaff, AZ – More than 60 filmmakers are showing films this weekend at the Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival. One of them is Pete McBride, a photojournalist from Colorado. His film Chasing Water is a photographic journey following the Colorado River from source to sea. He spoke with Arizona Public Radio's Gillian Ferris Kohl about the project.

While much of the focus this past week has been on an alleged Iranian terror plot, diplomats and law enforcement officials in the U.S. and Europe also began to take aim at Syria for an alleged conspiracy to intimidate dissidents abroad.

Syrian-American Mohamad Soueid was indicted in the U.S. on charges he passed information about dissidents back to the country's intelligence services.

On Monday, a judge is set to decide whether he should remain in prison pending his trial.

An Agent Of The Syrian Government?

Militants tried to blast their way into an American base in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, striking before dawn with rocket-propelled grenades and a vehicle packed with explosives.

The attackers failed to breach the gate of the base in Panjshir province's Rakha district, though they did hit a security tower with a rocket-propelled grenade, said provincial Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Qasim Jangalbagh.

Alabama has what many consider to be the strictest anti-immigration law in the country. Now that the law has been in effect for a few weeks, the state's residents are starting to see what some of the unintended consequences are. Andrew Yeager of member station WBHM reports from Birmingham.

A grand jury has indicted the Roman Catholic bishop of Kansas City for failing to report suspected child sexual abuse. Bishop Robert Finn has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor count of not reporting to police that he had seen child pornography on a priest's computer. It's the first time a bishop has been indicted since the church abuse scandal became public 25 years ago. NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports.

Baseball playoffs are heating up with pennants on the line. Over in the NFL, the game everyone's watching this week is a battle of rising teams. Meanwhile, the NBA is still locked out, and if it stays that way, it could mean no Christmas games. Host Scott Simon and NPR's Tom Goldman talk sports.

Liberia held presidential elections this week. The front runner and current president of Liberia is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this month. But awards notwithstanding, Liberia remains a place recovering from a 14-year-long civil war, with much of the country too poor even to have electric power or clean running water. Scott Simon talks with Tim Butcher, former Africa correspondent for The Daily Telegraph, about the challenges facing the country.