NPR 2012-02-02

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More than 100 union protesters are still gathered out on the sidewalks, holding up their signs, opposing the right-to-work legislation that passed through the state Senate here a little more than an hour ago. It will be signed by the governor a little later today, and it will immediately become effective once he does that. For contracts, union contracts between employers and employees, unions will no longer be able to charge non-union members fees for representation. So the services that non-union members receive like labor¹ grievance², variable representation, collective bargaining, that sort of thing, they will no longer be required to pay anything to the union.

 

Brandon Smith reporting on a dispute that had raised fears of disruptions to festivities ahead of this Sunday's Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

 

With apparently³ little progress in stabilizing⁴ the housing sector⁵, President Obama says he's trying something new. Today in Northern Virginia, the president announced a plan to give homeowners with privately⁶ held mortgages a chance to save an average of 3,000 dollars a year by taking advantage of record-low interest rates with government help.

 

"What this plan will do is help millions of responsible homeowners who make their payments on time, but find themselves trapped under falling home values or wrapped up in red tape."

 

But Republican critics may chuck it all up to "been there, done that." House Speaker John Boehner.

 

"We've done this at least four times, where there's some new government program to help homeowners who have trouble with their mortgages. None of these programs have worked, and I don't know why anyone would think that this next idea is going to work."

 

The White House is putting the spotlight⁷ on housing as the Republican presidential candidates campaign in Nevada, the next state up on the election's calendar. Nevada and Florida, which held its primary yesterday, have both faced record foreclosures.

 

The Commerce Department finds construction spending rose 1.5% in December, maintaining a five-month-long trend of gains. A key manufacturing index shows US factories raised output in January by the most in seven months. 

 

And new signs today that Greece is closer to securing a deal to tackle its debt. Greece and the IMF said today negotiations⁸ are likely to conclude within days.

 

At last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average up 125 points, nearly 1%, at 12,758;NASDAQ up more than 1% at 2,851; S&P 500 up 1%.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Chrysler is celebrating its first annual net income in 15 years, thanks to higher sales of new vehicles including jeeps. The US automaker says that it earned 183 million dollars last year and about-faced really from the more than 600-million-dollar loss suffered the year before, and Chrysler says it expects a more lucrative⁹ 2012. Italy's Fiat¹⁰ is a majority owner in Chrysler. Ford¹¹, meanwhile, reports a January boost from small cars and SUVs. However, General Motors’ sales fell.

 

Russia says it's ready to block a proposed United Nations resolution on Syria. NPR's Corey Flintoff reports top Russian diplomats¹² say they will veto any resolution that does not rule out foreign military intervention¹³ in the crisis-torn nation.

 

Anna Hazare promises a new round of non-violent protests if India's parliament doesn't pass the legislation creating a watchdog agency that could investigate corruption¹⁴ in the government. Hazare, a 74-year-old crusader who patterned himself on Mahatma Gandhi, has been able to muster¹⁵ big demonstrations¹⁶ against government corruption in the past year. His campaign has had special resonance¹⁷ for India's middle class, which resents having to pay bribes¹⁸ to get government services. Parliament is scheduled to adjourn¹⁹ its winter session next week, but Hazare says he'll call for sit-ins and other actions if the session doesn't finish its work on the legislation. Corey Flintoff, NPR News.

 

The Taliban denied reports today that it plans to directly negotiate with the Afghan government to end the more than decade-old war. Meanwhile, a leaked NATO report is suggesting insurgents²⁰ are confident they will regain²¹ control when international troops leave.

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