NPR 2012-01-09

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The hardline Kayhan newspaper said nuclear experts had begun injecting uranium gas for enrichment at the Fordo site—a previously¹ secret underground facility near the holy city of Qom. Iran’s continued nuclear enrichment has prompted Western powers to contemplate² increased sanctions, including restrictions³ on Iran’s central bank and its oil exports. Talk of such sanctions in turn has prompted Iran to threaten closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping⁴ chokepoint. Amid the tensions, Turkey’s foreign minister says Iran and six world powers have agreed in principle to another round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Turkey has offered to host the talks, but no venue⁵ or day has been announced. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Istanbul. 

 

Defense⁶ Secretary Leon Panetta says sanctions on Iran are having an effect on Tehran’s willingness to reconsider its nuclear activities. 

 

“I think the pressure of the sanctions; I think the pressure of diplomatic pressures from everywhere—Europe, the United States, elsewhere—is working, to put pressure on them, to make them understand that they cannot continue to do what they are doing.” 

 

Panetta says Tehran is not developing a nuclear weapon, but he says they are trying to develop a nuclear capability⁷. And that, he says, is unacceptable. 

 

Republican presidential hopefuls are out meeting and greeting New Hampshire voters as Tuesday’s primary close is in. Earlier today, they phased off in the second of two weekend debates. As NPR’s Susanna George reports, this morning’s give-and-take was quite pointed⁸ mainly at Mitt⁹ Romney. 

 

While Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney was mostly on the receiving end of debate jobs, he did call into question the conservative credentials¹⁰ of John Huntsman for serving as the US ambassador to China under President Barack Obama. Mr. Huntsman shot back.

 

“This nation is divided, David, because of attitudes like that. The American people are tired of the partisan¹¹ division. They have had enough. There’s no trust left among the American people and the institutions of power, and among the American people and our elected officials.”    

 

With just two days before New Hampshire’s primary and many voters undecided, the candidates are holding rallies and town-hall meetings across the state. Susanna George, NPR News, New Hampshire. 

 

The Arab League is again demanding the Syrian government to stop all violence against anti-government protesters and allow more monitors into the country. Arab ministers are also calling for a return to peaceful demonstrations¹². Activists¹³ say at least 10 civilians¹⁴ were killed today by regime forces. They say clashes between government troops and military defectors elsewhere left 11 soldiers dead. 

 

This is NPR. 

 

A Russian tanker¹⁵ continues to head toward Nome Alaska, carrying much needed fuel supplies. But the going is slow—it could take another day or two.

 

The controversial education law No Child Left Behind turns 10 years old today. The anniversary comes as Congress remains¹⁶ deadlocked¹⁷ over efforts to update the law. As NPR’s Larry Abramson reports, despite its sinking reputation, many credit the law with bringing new accountability to American education. 

 

President George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind in January of 2002 after a bipartisan agreement that the nation’s schools needed higher standards for all students. The law said schools could not be considered successful unless all students were making progress. That includes minorities, low-income students and those with learning disabilities. With time, many schools could not meet the standards and were labeled as failing. That has angered teachers and administrators¹⁸ who say the law is too punitive¹⁹. A divided Congress has tried and failed to update the law. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says he will grant waivers to some states rather than see most schools marked as failing. Those waivers could well limit the impact of No Child Left Behind in the future. Larry Abramson, NPR News. 

 

Another kind of anniversary today. It’s the birthday of world-renowned physicist²⁰ Stephen Hawking²¹. He turns 70. He had hoped to celebrate by attending a day-long conference on cosmology, talking about things like black holes and dark matter with other physicists²², but he wasn’t able to. Hawking was released from a hospital Friday, though there is no word why he was there. Hawking was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease when he was only 21.  

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