NPR 2012-12-31

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　　From NPR news in Washington, I am Nora Raum.

 

　　Last minute talks for a deal to avert¹ tax hikes for everyone and addressed spending cuts in the New Year. Appeared to have stalled in the Senate. NPR’s David Welna reports that Senate Republican leader is looking to Vice² President Joe Biden, to try to move things forward.

 

　　That mid-afternoon on the Senate floor, Republican leader Mitch McConnell said he had not received a counter-offer from Democrats³ to the proposal he made last night for averting⁴ a fiscal⁵ cliff. McConnell said no signal issues seem to be an impossible sticking point.

 

　　“ The sticking point of there to be a willingness and an interest, or frankly⁶ the courage to close the deal. I want everyone to know, I am wanna to get this done, but I need a dance partner.”

 

　　Majority leader Harry⁷ Reid confirmed the Democrats are unable to come up with a counter-offer. He said one thing they won’t do was make any cuts to social security. Possibly a reference to a push by the GOP to include new inflation conclusion. That was dampen the growth and cuts the retirement⁸ benefits.

 

　　David Welna, NPR news, the Capital.

 

　　A letter of Syrian opposition⁹ factions¹⁰ are dismissing a peace plan by international envoy¹¹ Lakhdar Brahimi. Saying contents unacceptable concessions¹² to the regime. NPR’s Peter Kenyon is monitoring the story from Istanbul, he says the reports are more violence.

 

　　Brahimi’s visit to Moscow has raised modest hopes of breakthrough, giving Russia’s position as solid ally of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and his regime. But the opposition refuses to consider any agreement that leaves al-Assad in power.

 

　　Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the other hand, says it is impossible to persuade al-Assad to step down ans insisting on that would mean sacrificing many more lives.

 

　　Heavy fighting continued in many parts of Syria yesterday. Activist¹³ claims of hundreds killed by government forces and Homas area could not be immediately confirmed. But London based Syrian observatory¹⁴ for human rights said it appears likely that at least dozens were killed.

 

　　Peter Kenyon, NPR news, Istanbul.

 

　　In Pakistan, 21 border soldiers were kidnapped by the Pakistani Taliban last week have been found died. NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston reports.

 

　　Officials say that the Pakistani Taliban executed nearly two dozens of the frontier corps’s men they captured last week near the city of Peshawar. Frontier corp’s men are in wilderness,punished to enforce, based in North Pakistan. Officials say the men were tied up, blindfolded¹⁵ and lined up before they were shot.

 

　　The army has launched a massive search rescue campaign right after the man disappeared. The killings¹⁶ end a bloody¹⁷ month in the concert with the Pakistani Taliban. The group launched two high profile attacks in Peshawar this month along. A suicide bombing that killed a local politician, and an attack on the Peshawar airport.

 

　　The discovery of the bodies camp just two days, after the leader of Pakistani Taliban released a video tape, saying he was open to peace talks.

 

　　Dina Temple-Raston, NPR news, Islamabad.

 

　　This is NPR news.

 

　　New England is digging out from as much as foot of snow after yet another storm. But now meteorologist say the outlook is clear for the next few days.

 

　　Richard Aldo was the National Weather Service says that scene for much of the country on New Years Eve.

 

　　“The trouble spot else gonna be trouble spot. May be Kansas city, it might have some snow, formed a day, New Years eve to the night time hours. And then further South form Dallas into Litter Rock, Arkansas. There will have some light, modest wind chills to be whirl.”

 

　　In Arkansas, utility officials say there are still thousands of people without electricity since storm in Christmas day.

 

　　Students, parents and faculty¹⁸ from Sandy Hood¹⁹ Elementary school in Connecticut are on hand for the New York Giants Football game today. The team invited the guests to play row in the pre-game ceremony. NPR’s Joel Rose reports.

 

　　Hundreds of guests from Newtown, Connecticut will attend the Giants final regular season game. Members of the Sandy Hood community will circle the field during the national anthem²⁰, and will share the moment of silence before the game, to honor the victims of the shooting spree earlier this month, that killed 26 people, including 20 children.

 

　　Giant Wide receiver Victor Cruz has already met the family of one victim, after the shootings, Cruz visited with the family of six-year-old Jack²¹ Pinto,  after learning the young shooting victim was Giant’s fan.

 

　　Joel Rose, NPR news, New York.

 

　　A New York judge is ordering a woman suspected of shoving a man in front of subway train last week, undergo a psychiatric evaluation²². She has been charged with murder as a hate crime. Investigators²³ say that she told them that she pushed the man Thursday night, because she thought he was a Muslim. This was the second man killed in this fashion this month.

 

　　I am Nora Raum, NPR news, in Washington.

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