NPR 2011-09-03

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The Labor² Department finds that the nation's unemployment rate unchanged at 9.1%. NPR's Sonari Glinton says there were no new jobs added to the economy last month. The first time that's happened in more than 16 years.

 

The sectors³ that added workers were education and health care. The list of places where hiring fell is longer. Construction, retail⁴, transportation, even manufacturing took a hit the first time since last October. Beth Ann Bovino is senior economist⁵ with Standard & Poor's. She says one of the places we have and will continue to seek job cuts: government.

 

"And the government is certainly pulling back sharply. They've been doing that for several months, and given state local governments are trying to clean up their balance sheets, and we certainly know what's happening with the federal government, a lot of job losses there as well."

 

Bovino says one of the main things holding back job growth: consumer confidence. Sonari Glinton, NPR News.

 

Rain is beginning to drench⁶ New Orleans as tropical storm Lee swirls⁷ in the Gulf⁸ of Mexico. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is urging residents not to ignore weather alerts.

 

"This is a holiday weekend. I know there are football games. I know people are paying attention to a lot of different things over this weekend. It's very important for folks to pay attention to the weather in their area."

 

Eileen Fleming of member station WWNO reports up to 20 inches of rain could fall throughout the Labor Day weekend.

 

Voluntary evacuations are underway for some coastal⁹ areas in southeast Louisiana. Governor Bobby Jindal has declared a state of emergency to be in effect until sometime next week. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has declared a state of emergency for counties expected to be slammed by the storm. New Orleans officials are telling residents to stay home if possible, especially those living near more than 30 traffic intersections¹⁰ that have significant flooding in stormy weather. A few oil platforms in the Gulf have been evacuated¹¹. Tropical storm warnings are in effect from Mississippi to Texas. For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.

 

A federal judge is rejecting Roger Clemens' request to throw out the perjury¹² charges against him. Judge Reggie Walton has set mid-April for the retrial of baseball's former star pitcher¹³, but Walton says he's still concerned that the prosecution¹⁴ violated his orders not to show jurors certain evidence, a move that prompted a mistrial. Clemens is accused of lying to Congress when he said he had never taken performance-enhancing drugs during his career.

 

You're listening to NPR News.

 

After 9/11, people who were exposed to the dust, smoke and fumes¹⁵ that engulfed¹⁶ Lower Manhattan have had significant health problems, but they have not been more likely to die. NPR's Nancy Shute reports on the surprising results of the first study of deaths in a decade since the terrorist attacks.  

 

There were no more deaths in rescue and recovery workers who worked at the Ground Zero site than in their colleagues. And that's also true for people who were exposed to the toxic¹⁷ dust and smoke because they lived in Lower Manhattan or were working there when the towers fell. Two other studies found that emergency workers at the site did have higher rates of cancer, depression and PTSD. Researchers say the death rates may be lower than expected because the illnesses that have affected¹⁸ 9/11 survivors¹⁹ the most like respiratory problems and PTSD can take years to cause death if they do at all. The studies were published in the Lancet. Nancy Shute, NPR News, Washington.

 

The European Union is banning oil imports from Syria in a move to pressure President Bashar al-Assad's regime to end its crackdown on dissent²⁰. The latest sanction is expected to cost the Syrian government millions of dollars each day. The announcement comes the same day that anti-Assad activists²¹ were reporting more deadly violence by Syrian troops.

 

Firefighters heading into the Labor Day weekend battling a number of fires in central and eastern Oregon, and they are expecting weather conditions to be brutal²²: hot, dry and windy. Crews are rushing to get lines established before the weather gets worse. Fire spokeswoman Jeree Mills is warning travelers to check websites and call ahead to find out if certain roads and campgrounds are open for the holiday weekend.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

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