As New Jersey and New York continue to pick the pieces in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the death toll has slowly crept up to 97.

I'd almost forgotten about the NYC Marathon, thanks to Sandy, and when I did remember that this is "Marathon Weekend," I just assumed it would get cancelled.

As of this writing, the ING New York City Marathon is not cancelled. But it should be. Immediately.

Alan Murray, deputy managing editor and executive editor, online, at The Wall Street Journal, is taking the post of president at the Pew Research Center.

He's succeeding a man who would certainly be familiar to many NPR listeners and to those who like to pore over polls. Andrew Kohut, who has been the center's president since its founding in 2004, will "stay on as founding director and continue to provide counsel on political polling and global attitudes research," the organization announced today.

This interview was originally broadcast on Fresh Air on July 18, 2008.

A new revival of the hit musical Annie is now in previews on Broadway, scheduled to open Thursday. In the new production, the canine co-star Sandy is played by "Sunny," who has an understudy named "Casey." Bill Berloni trained them both — and, like the original Sandy in the original Broadway show, those dogs, too, were rescue dogs, found in animal shelters.

This interview originally aired on Fresh Air on Jan. 9, 2012. Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend is now out in paperback.

If you need an MRI of your knee in Colorado, the price varies — a lot.

You can pay anywhere from $350 to $2,336. It's a huge range, but the truly remarkable thing about the prices is that we know them at all.

Prices for health care aren't public in most places, making shopping for the best deal nearly impossible. And patients pay different amounts for the same procedure based on their insurance coverage, too.

Superstorm Sandy, the October Surprise no one anticipated, throws a monkey wrench into the final days of the campaign. NPR's Ken Rudin and Ron Elving spend the final pre-election podcast scouting the key presidential battleground states and have a forecast for control of the House and Senate in advance of Tuesday's voting.

Join NPR's Ron Elving and Ken Rudin for their pre-Election Day political roundup.

Update at 5:17 p.m. ET. Marathon Cancelled:

After receiving withering criticism, officials have decided to cancel the New York City Marathon, the largest 26.2 mile road race in the world.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who had insisted on allowing the marathon to continue, issued a statement saying he did not want to taint the event.