NPR 2012-02-28

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Police in Chardon about 30 miles east of Cleveland say the gunman opened fire on students at Chardon High School just after 7:30 this morning. Police chief Tim McKenna says the suspect, a juvenile² and also a student there fled the school chased by a teacher.

 

“Shortly thereafter, we came up with the suspect. He is in custody³. No name will be released because he hasn't been charged yet.”

 

Three of the injured students were taken to Metro⁴ Health Medical Center in Cleveland, where one has died. Two others were taken to a another nearby hospital. Authorities continue to investigate the incident. Several students at Chardon High said they knew the shooter. For NPR News, I'm Bill Rice in Cleveland.

 

The European Union is imposing⁵ new sanctions on Syria, hoping that will put enough pressure on the government to stop its military operation against political dissent⁶. British Foreign Secretary Williams Hague says the 27 European Union countries meeting in Brussels have frozen the assets of the seven senior Syrian officials and the country's central bank.

 

“The details of those will be announced shortly. Uh, they will affect the access of the regime to finance and therefore damage its financial capabilities⁷ overtime⁸.”

 

So far those sanctions have done little to stop Syrian troops' bombardment of rebellious⁹ areas in Homs and other cities. 

 

Meanwhile, Syria says it's moving closer to reform. Local media report most voters have approved a new constitution to allow parties to compete with President Bashar al-Assad's ruling Baath Party. The opposition¹⁰ though boycotted¹¹ yesterday's vote.

 

German lawmakers have approved their part of a second multi-bllion-dollar bailout for Greece. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports Germany's Chancellor¹² Angela Merkel urged passage of the rescue package before the vote, calling it a necessary risk to keep the euro currency zone together.

 

On the floor of the Bundestag, the lower house, Merkel urged lawmakers to get behind the latest effort to save Greece and the eurozone, though she conceded there is, as she put it, no 100% guarantee it will work. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m fully¹³ aware of those who argue Greece is a bottomless pit, a hopeless case. Those who asked whether it might be better for all if Greece would reintroduce the Drachma, devalue its currency to stimulate¹⁴ growth, she said, adding those questions are valid¹⁵, but after careful consideration, I can only reach the conclusion that the chances this bailout offers far outweigh¹⁶ the risks. European leaders could sign off on final details of the package at a Brussels' meeting on Friday. Eric Westervelt, NPR News, Berlin.

 

Dow was up 22 at 13,005.

 

This is NPR News.

 

Front-runners Mitt¹⁷ Romney and Rick Santorum are in a tight race for votes in Michigan and Arizona ahead of those states' Republican presidential primaries tomorrow. The campaigns are also pouring a lot of money in the battleground state of Ohio which holds its contests next week. It'll be part of Super Tuesday voting in which 419 delegates are at stake. But former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says a Republican nominee¹⁸ may not service until the convention in August. Barbour, a former Republican party chairman, tells CBS that so far none of the candidates has taken control of the race.

 

A senior Roman Catholic official has asked the president of Israel to help stop attacks on Christian¹⁹ holy sites. NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports the official called the spate²⁰ of vandalism a dangerous phenomenon.

 

The graffiti began appearing a few weeks ago. “Death to Christians” and “We'll crucify you” were spray-painted on the Baptist Church in Jerusalem. Similar slogans were painted on a Greek Orthodox monastery²¹ and a Christian cemetery²² on Mount Sion. On Sunday, Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who’s Custodian²³ of the Holy Land, sent a letter to Israel's President Shimon Peres. He urged him to apprehend²⁴ the perpetrators who are believed to be Jewish extremists. He wrote that even though the Catholic Church has not been targeted, “red lines” that must not be crossed have been crossed. Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR News.

 

Nine more people in Afghanistan are dead from violence believed to be tied to protests against the burning of the Quran by US troops. 

 

Authorities say a suicide bombers²⁵ struck the gates outside a NATO base in eastern Afghanistan. Taliban are claiming responsibility.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

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