NPR News

Two big pieces of news in Mexico's presidential race today:

-- A new poll finds that the PRI's Enrique Peña Nieto has maintained a big lead over his rivals Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Josefina Vázquez Mota. The election is this Sunday and a few polls before this one showed Obrador had narrowed the gap.

The college football champion will be decided by a playoff beginning after the 2014 season.

The AP reports:

"Come 2014, the BCS is dead. A committee of university presidents on Tuesday approved the BCS commissioners' plan for a four-team playoff to start in the 2014 season.

Relationships are never easy.

If the partners in love happen to be living in a nursing home, there are even more challenges. And if they're showing signs of dementia, then things get really tricky.

Although no law forbids intimate relationships between people with dementia in nursing homes, staff and family members often discourage residents from expressing their sexuality, says a recent report in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

Congressional leaders on Tuesday said they were close to a deal to solve two big issues facing lawmakers — student loan interest rates and federal highway funding.

Both issues with looming deadlines have high stakes for middle-income Americans: If Congress fails to reach agreements by this weekend, the federal highway program would come to a halt, and student loan interest rates would double, to 6.8 percent.

Student Loans

President Obama has been hammering on the issue of student loans for days.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline hit a six-month low today.

According to AAA, national survey of more than 100,000 gas stations today's average is $3.41. The AP reports that in South Carolina gas is now below $3.

The AP adds:

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And I'm Melissa Block. At the University of Virginia this afternoon, a resounding turnaround.

TERESA SULLIVAN: Today, the Board of Visitors has voted to reinstate me as the president of the university.

(CHEERS, APPLAUSE)

BLOCK: Teresa Sullivan has her job back. Just two weeks ago, she was forced out in a behind-the-scenes move by some board members. Students and faculty were infuriated, and the campus has been in turmoil.

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A group of young musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area is taking a journey to explore the roots of jazz. The Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble is in Cuba right now. The ensemble has a long history and a long list of all-star alumni.

Jeffrey Freymann-Weyr, of member station KDFC, spoke with some of the musicians before they left for Cuba.

JEFFREY FREYMANN-WEYR, BYLINE: Twenty eager young musicians rehearse "Cubauza," a piece that combines bebop with Afro-Cuban rhythms.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CUBAUZA")

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And I'm Audie Cornish. We're going to begin this hour in the city of Stockton, in California's Central Valley. Stockton has suffered badly in the housing crisis and tonight, the city council is set to approve a plan that will lead to bankruptcy. Stockton, home to 290,000 people, will become the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy. As NPR's Richard Gonzales reports, it's a bitter pill for a city many felt was on the mend.

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When the Supreme Court ruled on Arizona's immigration law yesterday, it left in place what might be called the centerpiece of that law. That's the provision that requires law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of people who are stopped for other reasons.

Roberto Villasenor is police chief for the city of Tucson. We've been talking with him periodically about SB1070, as the law is known. And he tells us today that what the court left in place is the most problematic provision for his police force.

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A first at the Pentagon today, an official ceremony to celebrate Gay Pride Month. It's the first chance for the military to mark the occasion openly since the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

NPR's Larry Abramson was there.

LARRY ABRAMSON, BYLINE: Gay Pride celebrations often feature outrageous costumes, but the only get-ups in the Pentagon auditorium were military uniforms and business suits worn by civilian workers. The only rainbow colors were on the flags carried in by a color guard.

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It's time for your letters and, today, they're all about sports.

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Last week, we aired a story about the 40th anniversary of Title IX. We referred to the golf adage, hit the ball, Alice, as a sexist insult about a weak putt. Well, several of you, including Kenneth Gookin(ph) of Dallas, say Alice isn't who we think she is.

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Stockton's financial morass is an example of challenges faced by many cities these days.

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In the coming weeks, we'll report on urban life in the 21st century with the NPR Cities Project.

(SOUNDBITE OF STREET NOISE)

BLOCK: Our Cities Project stories start next Monday and we want your input. What is the heart of your city, your favorite pocket park, plaza or watering hole? Please send us pictures and sound.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: The sound of San Francisco is the BART train.

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At this week's Olympic trials, middle distance runner Jenny Simpson will find out if she's going to the Olympics. Simpson is the current world champion in the 1,500 meters, but as we hear from NPR's Allison Keyes, she's had some setbacks recently, and she and her coach are making last-minute tweaks to her training routine.