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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Romney rings up the magic number, Barrett and Walker wind up in Wisconsin, and on CNN, the Donald brings up the birther business again. It's Wednesday and time for a...

DONALD TRUMP: Ridiculous...

CONAN: ...edition of the Political Junkie.

PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: There you go again.

VICE PRESIDENT WALTER MONDALE: When I hear your new ideas, I'm reminded of that ad: Where's the beef?

(NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman has been embedded with U.S. troops in Afghanistan this month. On Morning Edition, he reported from the eastern province of Ghazni about what's being called "the last major combat offensive of the Afghan War." Now, he tells us about his interview with the No. 2 U.S. officer in Afghanistan, Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti.)

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Wednesday he is "very confident" that Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker will survive next week's recall election.

And Priebus, a Wisconsin native, said that a Walker win Tuesday over Democratic challenger Tom Barrett would mean "a much tougher road in Wisconsin" for President Obama in November's general election.

Note: As you may have guessed from the headline, there is disturbing content in this post. And scroll down for an update.

More is becoming known about one of the most horrific crimes we've heard about recently — the attack in Miami on Saturday during which a man was "biting off parts of another man's face."

Brig. Gen. Neil Tolley says that he has reviewed his presentation at a Special Forces Industry Conference and has come to the conclusion that he was "accurately quoted" by a reporter from the The Diplomat.

There have been very few days lately when worries about Europe's debt crisis weren't growing.

As Spain struggles to shore up its third-largest bank with a $24 billion bailout, the country's borrowing costs continue to go through the roof as fears lingered about a possible run on its banks.

Auto sales are on the rise in Detroit, and not just for people with perfect credit. Chrysler and other companies are targeting customers with subprime credit, and giving them interest rates well above what you might imagine. Host Michel Martin speaks with NPR's Sonari Glinton about who's doing it, and what it might mean for the economic recovery.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, the auto industry is bouncing back and at least some of that recovery is thanks to subprime lending. We talk to NPR's Sonari Glinton about which carmakers are floating loans to customers with less than pristine credit. We'll talk about whether that's a problem or not.