NPR 2012-04-28

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President Obama was joined at Fort Stewart by past and present service members who’ve had bad experiences with for-profit colleges. Thanks to their GI Bill benefits, military families are sometimes targets for aggressive college marketers, whom Mr. Obama says don’t always deliver on their promises of education.

 

"Sometimes you’re dealing³ with folks who aren’t interested in helping⁴ you. They’re not interested in helping you find the best program. They’re interested in getting the money.”

 

The president’s executive order calls for more disclosure of tuition cost and graduation rates. The order also directs the VA to trademark⁵ the term “GI Bill,” making it harder to use for deceptive online marketing. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

 

The US economy is growing but more slowly by than the government had hoped. The first quarter saw a growth rate of 2.2%, lower than the 3% increase the country saw the previous quarter. The Commerce Department says consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in more than a year, but that was partially⁶ offset⁷ by cutbacks in government spending.

 

Syrian state television says an explosion in the Syrian capital of Damascus has killed at least nine people and injured many more. NPR’s Kelly McEvers reports the explosions come as Syrians took to the streets for the latest round of weekly protests that have gone on for more than a year.

 

Syrian state television blamed the blast on terrorists, but so far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Video from the blast site near a mosque⁸ showed gruesome images of body parts. The Syrian government and those who oppose it are trading accusations⁹ over who has made more violations¹⁰ of a UN-brokered ceasefire that was supposed to take effect two weeks ago. Syrian activists¹¹ say hundreds of people have died at the hands of government troops. The Syrian government says armed rebels have committed hundreds of violations themselves. Right now a handful of UN observers are inside Syria. More are expected next week. Kelly McEvers, NPR News, Beirut.

 

John Edwards’ terminal trial entered the fifth day. In the latest development, Judge Catherine Eagles is denying a bid by Edwards’ former mistress Rielle Hunter to restrict what the public will be allowed to learn about a court battle over a sex tape. Hunter has said that tape of her and the former Democratic presidential candidate are of a personal nature. Edwards denies charges that he violated campaign finance rules by using donors’ money to conceal¹² his extramarital affair with Hunter.

 

At last check on Wall Street, the Dow was up 33 points at 13,238. 

 

This is NPR News.

 

NATO is reporting the death of another service member in an insurgent¹³ attack in southern Afghanistan. The military alliance’s statement today does not reveal, however, the fallen soldier’s nationality. At least 36 international service members have died in Afghanistan so far this month.

 

Three men have been arrested in Denmark on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack. Teri Schultz reports the new arrest comes as headlines are being made in a terror trial already underway.

 

The Danish Security Service says the arrests were made at two different locations in the capital. The three men have been charged with illegally possessing automatic weapons and ammunition¹⁴, and officials believe they were in the process of planning an attack. In a separate trial that opened in Copenhagen earlier this month, four men are accused of plotting a shooting spree in 2010. They were found with enormous weapon supplies. The chief prosecutor¹⁵ in that case says the attack was planned on the office of the newspaper that in 2005 sparked controversy¹⁶ by publishing characters of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. A taped conversation with an investigator¹⁷ has been revealed in the press in which one of the defendants¹⁸ says a member of their group was given orders from Pakistan to kill as many people as possible in Denmark. For NPR News, I’m Teri Schultz.

 

In the face of growing public outrage¹⁹, the Czech government has managed to survive a confidence vote. Politicians have come under fire for attempting to make deep cuts in spending. The right-leaning government is also the target of widespread corruption²⁰ allegations.

 

We’ve been seeing gains in the US stocks today with the Dow up 31 points at 13,235; NASDAQ up more than 0.5%, 19 points, at 3,069; S&P 500 gaining three points.

 

I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

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