CNN Radio New Day: October 26, 2012

Welcome to CNN Radio News Day.

Here are some of the stories we cover in today's edition:

* With the U.S. presidential election just over a week away, Republican candidate Mitt Romney gave a big speech on the economy today in the swing state of Iowa. The message wasn't so much about specific policy prescriptions, but rather a last-minute pitch to voters that he can do a better job of fixing the economy than President Barack Obama. CNN's Ali Velshi says:

“It had no new material in it... This was in fact, just an old-fashioned pep rally".

* The latest poll numbers show President Obama and Mitt Romney running neck and neck in the race for the White House. And the numbers are leading some political pundits to believe it's possible, maybe even likely, that one candidate could win the popular vote and the other would take the Electoral College. Rob Richie is the director of Fair Vote - a non-partisan group pushing to do away with the Electoral College system:

"Take the single state of Ohio... It's getting more campaign spending and more candidate attention than the smallest 29 states combined."

* A 17-year-old girl from Brooklyn, New York is blazing a trail through chess. Rochelle Ballantyne is poised to become the first African-American female to attain the ranking of chess master:

"I've never been the first anything so having that title next to my name is gonna... oh man, it's gonna feel amazing," Ballantyne says.