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Having just stepped into the shouting match over patents on genetically engineered crops, there are a few small things that I, too, would like to get off my chest.

As recently as last month, it was clear that a lot of Republicans were unhappy with their presidential nominee, Mitt Romney.

When I would ask GOP voters how they felt about Romney at campaign rallies or at their doorsteps, many made sour faces, like they were swallowing chalk. They offered their most backhanded endorsements, saying things like, "He wasn't my first choice," or, "He's who we've got."

It was clear they would vote for him, but for many it was not out of love — it was out of disdain for President Obama.

After sharp words on the debate stage Tuesday and after weeks of tough talk about each other on the campaign trail, President Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney face a different kind of challenge tonight:

They have to be funny about each other and about themselves.

The number of first-time claims for jobless benefits rose by 46,000 last week, to 388,000, the Employment and Training Administration says.

The previous week's total — 342,000 — was the fewest since early 2008. The increase last week put claims back into the range where they've been stuck for a year, between 350,000 and 400,000.

Saying that "we have reached a tipping point at which we can most efficiently and effectively reach our readers in all-digital format," editor Tina Brown announced this morning that Newsweek's Dec. 31 issue will be its last print edition.

Going forward, she said:

"Newsweek will expand its rapidly growing tablet and online presence, as well as its successful global partnerships and events business.

Two-thirds of American college graduates left school last year with student loan debt hanging over their heads and the average amount they owed was $26,600, up 5 percent from the previous year. They also walked into a "tough job market" that was only marginally more friendly than in 2010, according to a report released today by the Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS).

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Back in the late 1700s, the resentful subjects of France's Marie Antoinette gave her the nickname Madame Deficit. The queen's extravagant lifestyle ended at the guillotine. But she left behind some treasures, including a delicate pair of green and pink silk striped slippers. On the anniversary of her execution this week, they were sold by a Parisian auction house at a price fit for a queen - more than $65,000. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

One week after the latest rumors of his death, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has emerged — sort of — in a letter he's said to have written.