Envoys representing the institutions lending billions to Greece returned to that country today to examine new austerity measures. Joanna Kakissis reports from Athens the envoys rejected the first measures because they weren't tough enough.

 

The lenders of the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, they are known as the troika. The new measures include new taxes and cuts to public sector wages, pensions and health care spending. If the troika approves, their budget goes to parliament for a vote. The unions have promised strikes and demonstrations and protests. Greece must approve the measures to keep receiving bailout loans, which are saving the country from bankruptcy and the eurozone exit. Germany is lending much of the money. Chancellor Angela Merkel says Greece must stick to austerity in exchange for the aid. But former Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück, who hopes to oust Merkel in elections next year, says Greece should get more time to reform its economy. For NPR News, I'm Joanna Kakissis in Athens.

 

A Moscow court is expected to hear the appeal of punk rock band members' Pussy Riot tomorrow. Jessica Gallaher reports Russia's Orthodox Church is asking the court for a clemency if the band members repent.

 

Russia's powerful Orthodox Church says if the women show penitence and reconsider their actions, it shouldn't be left unnoticed. The all-female punk rockers were convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred and sentenced to two years in a penal colony for calling on the Virgin Mary to deliver them from Russian President Vladimir Putin on the altar of Russia's most prominent Orthodox cathedral. They were protesting against the church's support of Putin's presidency. Analysts and lawyers for the women said the charges are politically motivated and show that Putin will not tolerate dissent. For NPR News, I'm Jessica Gallaher in Moscow.

 

It's the last Sunday before the first debate in the presidential campaign. So politicians and politician watchers were all over the television talk shows this morning. Senior White House adviser David Plouffe told ABC's "This Week" that the challenger usually does very well in debates, and that Mitt Romney will have some zingers prepared.

 

"We believed all along that Governor Mitt Romney probably has more benefit out of this debate potentially than we do. But what we're going to tell the American people on Wednesday, as we have through the whole campaign, is exactly where we are as a country, where we need to go, how we rebuild an economy that makes the middle class secure."

 

Meanwhile on Fox News Sunday, Paul Ryan called the president a very gifted speaker who's been on the national stage for several years, while Mitt Romney has never been in a one-on-one presidential debate.

 

This is NPR News.

 

The Midwest drought is causing stress for farmers everywhere. But as NPR's Jim Hawk reports, California is being especially hard hit.

 

The summer-long drought has led to a more than 50% spike in the cost of corn and soybeans. In Hanford, California, dairy farmer Mary Cameron says she's on the brink of losing her business because her cattle feed bills have been astronomical.

 

"In fact, up to about three or four years ago, I considered myself a wealthy dairyman. And now everything is going under."

 

Dozens of dairy operators have filed for bankruptcy in California, the nation's largest dairy state. Others have sold their herds or sent them to slaughter and given up on the business. Jim Hawk, NPR News.

 

Tomorrow is the first Monday in October, the day the US Supreme Court begins a new term. One of the first cases the justices will hear concerns affirmative action whether the University of Taxes may consider race in deciding college admissions. The court is also expected to hear cases this term involving voting rights and whether the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it denies federal benefits to married partners of the same sex.

 

Starting tomorrow, hospitals will be fined if Medicare patients are readmitted with complications within 30 days of being discharged. It's part of the health care overhaul bill. About two-thirds of the nation's hospitals admit Medicare patients. A study found about 12% are later readmitted for a potentially preventable problem. Doctor John Santa of Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center says that if car companies can issue warranties for their products, hospitals should have a similar obligation for a new need.

 

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.