The presidential candidates are preparing for several days of campaigning. Their surrogates appeared on news talk programs today. Kevin Madden is an adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He told ABC's “This Week” the tax plan backed by Romney and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan will mean more take-home pay for middle-class Americans.

 

“Governor Romney has made it very clear that what he is doing is putting forth an economic vision, an economic plan, along with Congressman Ryan. That's focused on helping the middle class, so that we have more jobs and more take-home pay, and that's the focus.”

 

But Obama deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter disagreed. She says the GOP's ticket’s financial plan will harm middle class Americans.

 

“The tax plan that is on the table — even if Congressman Ryan is now agreeing with Mitt Romney on his tax plan — it's a five-trillion-dollar tax cut, mostly geared toward the wealthy, that independent analysts have said in order to pay for it, they’re gonna have to increase taxes on the middle class.”

 

Cutter also spoke on ABC's “This Week.”

 

Wildfires are burning in at least ten western states parched by the devastating drought. Residents of Featherville, Idaho are anxiously watching an approaching wildfire that could burn through their town today. As Scott Graf of Boise State Public Radio reports, the Trinity Ridge fire led many residents to evacuate the area yesterday.

 

Heavy smoke from the fire led authorities to go door-to-door to urge residents to leave. Sheriff’s deputies did not order residents to evacuate, and some decided to stay. The fire started two weeks ago about ten miles outside of Featherville. Nearly 90,000 acres of burned remote mountain areas so far. Structure loss has been minimal, but that could change today. More than 1,000 personnel are currently fighting the fire. The government has spent nearly 11 million dollars so far on the firefighting effort. Officials don't think they’ll have the fire contained for at least six weeks. For NPR News, I'm Scott Graf in Boise, Idaho.

 

Dallas County, Texas hopes to resume aerial mosquito spraying to fight the West Nile virus. At least ten people are dead from the mosquito-borne virus in the region. Many people are ill. Aerial spraying efforts stopped Friday night because of heavy storms, and the weather blocked last night's attempt. At least 88,000 acres were sprayed. More than 220,000 acres must still be covered. 

 

This is NPR.

 

NATO says a uniformed Afghan man shot and killed a NATO service member today in Afghanistan. The attack occurred in southern Afghanistan. Also today, NATO says a roadside bombing killed three service personnel in eastern Afghanistan, an area often patrolled by US troops. NATO has not released the nationality of any of the troops killed today.

 

Long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad is back in the water as she continues her quest to become the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage. As NPR's Joel Rose reports Nyad began her latest attempt on Saturday afternoon.

 

Nyad is hoping to set an open water record by swimming 103 miles across the straits of Florida without a wetsuit or a cage. The 62-year-old swimmer suffered a number of jellyfish stings early Sunday, according to teammates who were traveling with her by boat. Jellyfish stings derailed one of Nyad's two attempts to swim the Straits of Florida last year. She also attempted the crossing in 1978. This time, Nyad is wearing a custom-made swimsuit that covers nearly her entire body. Nyad's team says she's already swum the equivalent of one English Channel with four more to go before she reaches the Florida Keys. Joel Rose, NPR News.

 

Sudan says one of its government helicopters crashed today in a mountainous region. Everyone onboard was killed, including a senior government minister and two military generals. It's not clear what caused the helicopter to crash. There is word it was raining heavily.  

 

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Gordon is driving across the eastern Atlantic Ocean toward the Azores islands. Gordon is expected to strike the chain early Monday morning.