Mark Memmott

"Terrorists can't change who we are," former Secretary of State Colin Powell told NPR's Steve Inskeep earlier today.

Americans, he said, will only lose touch with the freedom-loving, open society we enjoy if we "take such counsel of our fears that we change who we are."

Though he said this week that he hasn't decided who he'll vote for in the 2012 presidential race, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said today that shouldn't be seen as some sort of message about his opinion of President Obama — the Democrat who Republican Powell famously endorsed in 2008.

"I'm always undecided in every election" until he knows who the candidates are, Powell told NPR's Steve Inskeep.

"I would urge Ron Paul and any critics of FEMA to come to Vermont," the state's governor said earlier today on The Takeaway.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Gov. Peter Shumlin (D), has "an A-team" on the ground in his state, which was crushed by Hurricane Irene-related flooding this week.

"Football fans take comfort," CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller says on his Twitter page. "WH official says Pres Obama's speech next Thursday won't conflict with NFL opening game."

We've looked at the schedule.

A quick follow-up to the story of the Minnesota family that looked like it had won $50,000 — until dad came forward to say that the boy who had made a lucky hockey shot wasn't the son who was supposed to have taken it: