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Fidgety financial markets continued their volatile swings today. As Jim Zarroli reports, the Nasdaq composite index lost more than 4 percent of its value early in the day before rebounding sharply. But the Nasdaq, home to most new economy stocks, is still off 20-percent for the year. There's a sense of unease about some of the high-tech stocks that have powered the market's remarkable performance. Earnings at many companies have disappointed, and with interest rates and energy costs up this year, investors see little to cheer about.

The major party candidates have spent the fall competing for the votes of the political center. That means concentrating on issues with broad appeal rather than on the more controversial positions of their respective parties. But it leaves activists on both the left and right feeling uninspired by the Democratic and Republican nominees, longing to hear more about their favorite subjects. NPR's Anthony Brooks reports.

Robert talks to two analysts of Presidential debates, Psychology professor Joseph Tecce of Boston College and Jeff Rubinstein of the Princeton Review in New York City. Each offers a rather unique perspective on the debates. Tecce says research into past presidential contests shows that the man who blinks less in debates wins. And Rubinstein's publication computed a verbal grade level for each candidate during their broadcast encounter.

Commentator Kevin Phillips talks about the connection between oil, technology, and wealth in the United States.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports on changes in U.S. trade policy toward Cuba. Last night, the Senate gave final approval to a bill that modestly eases the trade embargo on Cuba. It will allow sales of food to Cuba for the first time in four decades, but bars the federal government or U.S. banks from financing shipments.

NPR's Pat Dowell profiles actress Ellen Burstyn, who's getting favorable reviews for her new television program, "That's Life," and her new movie, "Requiem for a Dream." Burstyn appears in another new movie, "The Yards," which opens tomorrow in New York and Los Angeles. She has several more projects in the works.

NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports on the AARP's new identity. The American Association of Retired Persons is trying to realign its image with that of the aging baby boomers. Suddenly, post 50 is looking more active and more engaged with the world. But some members worry that the AARP is ignoring older retirees whose lifestyles and attitudes don't necessarily fit with those of the boomers. (

The host of NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday, Scott Simon. He's written a new memoir, Home & Away: Memoir of a Fan (Hyperion).

NPR's Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg reports on the opening of Madame Tussaud's in New York. The famed British wax museum will feature replicas of some real New York types, including Woody Allen, Joe DiMaggio, Donald Trump, and Rudy Giuliani. But it will also have figures that have long attracted attention in its London home, such as Napoleon and Princess Diana. (

We remember dancer Gwen Verdon. She died today at the age of 75. She became an overnight Broadway sensation in 1953 as a dancer in Can Can, for which she won her first Tony Award. Later she created her most memorable roles in Bob Fosses Damn Yankees as the seductress Lola, Sweet Charity as the taxi dancer Charity, and Chicago as the chorus girl Roxie. Verdon was also Fosses third wife. (ORIGINAL BROADCAST from 5