Quoted: Alicia Shepard is NPR's ombudsman. She sees her job as explaining NPR to listeners and listeners to NPR. Do you have questions about NPR's coverage? Give us a call. Shepard has practiced journalism at the New York Times, Washington Post and American Journalism Review. She teaches a graduate–level course in media ethics at Georgetown University.

Quoted: Last night John McCain and Barack Obama debated for the second time. It was meant to help undecided voters make a decision. Are you an undecided voter? Did last night's debate help sway you? What do you need to hear in order to make a decision? If you've already decided how you're voting, did last night's debate make you more or less confident in your

Quoted: Keith Devlin is a math professor at Stanford and NPR's 'Math Guy.' He'll explain the origins of probability theory. Until the 17th century, mathematicians didn't believe numbers could predict anything. But since then, math has been used to calculate the odds at casinos, insurance premiums and many other facets of the modern world. Got questions about

Quoted: Washington State sued Countrywide Financial and won. Countrywide Financial will modify loans and waive late fees for 10,000 Washingtonians whose homes are at risk of foreclosure. It's the largest settlement ever from a predatory lender. We'll learn more. Also, Forbes Magazine says Seattle is one of the hardest major cities in which to sell a home. Even

Quoted: Vice presidential candidates Sarah Palin and Joe Biden sparred last night over taxes, energy policy and the Iraq war. What did you think of the debate and how the two came across?Republican Palin sought to reclaim her identity as a feisty reformer. Democrat Biden tried to undercut the maverick image of GOP presidential hopeful John McCain. Did anything

Quoted: Should some terminally–ill adults be allowed to obtain lethal prescriptions to end their lives? Voters will decide next month. It's Initiative 1000 on the November ballot. What do you think? We'll also be talking about the death penalty. Last week a federal judge rejected the latest appeal by Washington's longest–serving death–row

Quoted: In November, you'll be asked to approve the Sound Transit 2 plan to expand light rail and bus service. It will cost you an extra nickel in sales tax for every $10 you spend. Is it worth it? Last November, voters turned down a combined transit and roads package. This year, the regional transit agency is back with a transit–only plan. Got questions?

Quoted: The Justice Department has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate possible criminal conduct in the firing of nine U.S. Attorneys at the end of 2006. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and other top Justice Department officials resigned in the wake of the scandal. One of the fired U.S. Attorneys was John McKay of Western Washington. McKay says

Quoted: The House votes on the bailout bill today. Over the weekend the Bush administration modified the plan for taxpayers to buy 700 billion dollars in bad debt from banks and financial institutions. Now the money will be paid out in three stages. Any bank that offloads more than 100 million dollars in troubled loans will give the federal government a stake