For the top two presidential candidates, the debates are over, the conventions are far behind us, the election is less than two weeks away. So now what? What are they doing between right this second and election day? In a nutshell, it’s an all-out sprint. President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney are crisscrossing the country. They are meeting with potential voters, going on TV shows, posing for pictures and campaigning in front of crowds. There will be a lot of that, especially in swing states, where it’s uncertain which candidate is likely to win. The campaigns are buying up ad space, so you’ll see more commercials on more channels, and their running mates, wives and families are doing all they can to get supporters to vote on November 6. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess who will win the election. A CNN political reporter says Americans will wake up on election day not knowing who their next president will be. It makes the campaigning and the candidates due between now and election day even more significant. 

 

Our next story takes us to Italy, some people in the scientific world are stunned about a court case that just wrapped up there. Six scientists and a government official have been convicted on manslaughter charges, and sentenced to six years in prison. This was back to an earthquake that hit the city of L’Aquila in 2009. The court ruled that these scientists didn’t do enough to warn people that there was an earthquake risk. The trial focused on a meeting that happened one week before the quake. City residents had raised concerns about recent seismic activity. At this meeting, the scientists determined it was unlikely that a major quake would hit. Unlikely, but not impossible. When that major quake did hit, more than 300 people were killed. Earthquake experts around the world say it’s impossible to predict earthquakes with any kind of accuracy, they say this court ruling could stop scientists from making predictions in the future. But another expert says, the case wasn’t about prediction, it was about communication and the failure to get information out. 

 

Back in the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA says it’s looking into reports of a possible connection between energy drinks and five deaths. The parents of 14-year old are suing Monster Beverage, which makes Monster energy drinks. The parents say their daughter died from heart problems after drinking Monster Energy on two consecutive days. Law suite says the drinks had 480 milligrams of caffeine, that’s equal to about 15 cans of soda or three cups of coffee. And it’s nearly five times more caffeine than medical experts say teenagers should have in a day. The FDA says it hasn’t found any direct link so far between this teen’s death and the energy drink. Monster Beverage says it’s saddened by the death, but quote, “doesn’t believe that its beverages are in any way responsible.”