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Preparing For Election Day And Gas Prices Drop

Representatives of Republican incumbent Robert Bentley and Democratic challenger Parker Griffith had been talking about scheduling debates, but those talks failed.
al.com
Republican Gov. Robert Bentley is crisscrossing the state by plane to rally support before Tuesday's election, while Democratic challenger Parker Griffith is campaigning by car in north Alabama.

Republican Governor Robert Bentley is crisscrossing the state by plane to rally support before tomorrow's election, while Democratic challenger Parker Griffith is campaigning by car in north Alabama. The race between Bentley and Griffith has received most of the attention leading up to Election Day in Alabama. The last time a Democrat won the governor's office was 1998. But other races in Alabama also offer dim odds for democrats. The GOP already controls every statewide office from governor on down, and winning even one could be tough for Democrats. There are however other issues to consider. The ballot also includes contested elections for constitutional offices, congressional seats and five statewide constitutional amendments. You can catch all of Alabama public radio's election coverage on our website apr.org.

Drivers may see more motorists on the roads this upcoming holiday season. Gas prices have been falling across the country and that trend is expected to continue until at least the end of November. Ray-oh-la Dewer is a senior economist with the American Petroleum Institute. She says drivers are not the only ones impacted by this.

"It can impact aviation fuel as well so you may see more travelers in the air, but also more families getting in their car and making that long trip to grandma's house they they might have otherwise had made so it all starts to add up."

Dewer says every penny reduction in gas prices is worth about one-point-four billion dollars nationally. She says the lower prices are the product of an increase in American oil production.

This month is National Diabetes Awareness Month and health organizations want people to be more aware of the connection of diabetes and heart disease. The Be Smart About Your Heart: Control the A-B-C's of Diabetes campaign is an effort to show that people with diabetes are twice as likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than people without the disease. Dr. Griffin Rodgers is the Director of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. He says one of the big problems is getting people to realize they have diabetes.

"It's estimated that somewhere in one and four people with diabetes really are unaware that they actually have the disease, and the reason for that is that while most people with diabetes have symptoms too often those symptoms are ignored or dismissed."

Rodgers says that 11.1 percent of Alabamians have been diagnosed with diabetes which is nearly two percent higher than the national average.

Ryan Vasquez is a reporter and the former APR host of All Things Considered.
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