Morning Edition

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Our last word in business today is: the rich getting richer.

Forbes magazine just came out with its yearly list of the 400 richest Americans. Their combined net worth increased 13 percent since last year.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Here are some of the people who can certainly afford any kind of phone they want: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Larry Ellison, the Koch brothers and the children of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.

The attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya last week has led to dueling versions of what unfolded that night in Benghazi.

To hear the Obama administration tell it, the attack that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans was spontaneous — and staged by local extremists who saw an opportunity to hijack peaceful demonstrations against an offensive film.

The Libyans have a different view. They say it was a premeditated strike, launched by foreign fighters with ties to al-Qaida.

An experimental drug that helps people who have Fragile X syndrome is raising hopes of a treatment for autism.

The drug, called arbaclofen, made people with Fragile X less likely to avoid social interactions, according to a study in Science Translational Medicine. Researchers suspect it might do the same for people with autism.

Nearly 13 million Americans have gotten, or will soon be getting, rebates from their health insurance companies. This is because of a provision in the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) that's supposed to force insurance companies to run better.

But while the idea of getting a check from your health insurance company may sound great, some economists worry this rule could actually make health insurance more expensive.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A flat tire could have been tragic for an Ohio man — but for a Good Samaritan who stopped to help, and who's own car was then struck by a drunk driver. Gerald Gronowski told The Plain Dealer in Cleveland that he and his son would surely have been hit as they stood on the shoulder.

The NFL locked out the regular officials in June because of a labor dispute. While the league and the referees union continue to disagree over a new contract, the replacements on the field are making mistakes.

Spanish-language network Univision will broadcast the first part of its presidential forum Wednesday night. GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney will be the first candidate to appear, and President Obama follows Thursday night.

The presidential interviews came after a dramatic clash that would rival any of the network's famous telenovelas. Univision confronted the Commission on Presidential Debates, the nonprofit group that organizes the candidate debates, after it announced an all-white lineup of moderators.

A Harvard researcher says a "new gospel" written on a fragment of papyrus shows some early Christians believed Jesus had a wife. The fragment — which scholars believe was written in the fourth century — is creating a sensation among New Testament experts.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with an adjustment to the oil supply.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)