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Today's Top Stories: Speech Flap; CIA Flights; Libya

Good morning.

The story that the news media seem to believe is this morning's important news is word that the back-and-forth over which night next week President Obama will address a joint session of Congress has ended with the White House agreeing to do it on Thursday (the 8th) instead of Wednesday, which it had requested.

Over at It's All Politics, NPR's Ron Elving says there was "peevish political gamesmanship" going on as the White House first tried to get the speech scheduled for the same night as a GOP presidential debate, only to have House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) say no, please come on Thursday instead — when the address will be up against the opening game of the NFL season.

We'll leave it to others to sort out the gamesmanship. Largely lost in the hubbub is discussion of the speech's topic — the president's latest jobs plan. According to The Associated Press:

"White House officials say not all details of the president's address have been decided, though he is expected to lay out proposals to increase hiring with a blend of tax incentives for business and government spending for public works projects. At the same time, White House officials say, he will offer long-term deficit reductions to make up for any upfront spending."

NPR's Tamara Keith had more about the speech flap on Morning Edition.

As for other stories making headlines this morning, they include:

-- "Court Case Reveals Details Of Secret CIA Flights." (The Associated Press)

-- "Son Denies Rebels' Claim That Qaddafi Is Cornered." (The New York Times)

-- "Libya's Rebel Leadership To Outline Goals At Paris Conference." (CNN)

-- "Nearly 2 Million Still Out Of Power After Irene." (The Associated Press)

-- In Vermont, "Hard-hit Rochester Bands Together To Emerge From Irene's Wrath." (Burlington Free Press)

-- Banks Reach Deal With New York State To Clean Up Mortgage Practices. (The Wall Street Journal)

-- "Wildfires Roar Through Parched Texas, Oklahoma." (The Associated Press)

-- Venus Williams Pulls Out Of U.S. Tennis Open Due To Illness. (ESPN.com)

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.