New England Public Radio

Ahead of his much-anticipated speech Thursday afternoon at the National Defense University, there's word that President Obama:

Drones

-- Will announce he's going to "sharply curtail the instances when unmanned aircraft can be used to attack in places that are not overt war zones, countries like Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia," The New York Times says. It adds that "the rules will impose the same standard for strikes on foreign enemies now used only for American citizens deemed to be terrorists."

Word about what the president may say follows the administration's acknowledgement Wednesday that four U.S. citizens have been killed by drone strokes "far outside traditional battlefields," as NPR's Carrie Johnson reported for us.

Guantanamo

-- Plans to renew his effort to close the terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. On Morning Edition, NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reported that the president is "expected to appoint someone whose sole responsibility will be to move detainees out of Guantanamo."