NPR 2009-5-18

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From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.
 
President Obama's commencement address at Notre Dame¹ University today was punctuated² by the shouts of some hecklers who strongly disagreed with his support for abortion³ rights.
 
"And since this is Notre Dame, I mean..." But the hecklers were drowned out by students and others in the crowd. "That's all, that's all right." Mr. Obama defended his stance on abortion but he called for open hearts and open minds towards those who disagree with him. "Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded, not only in sound science but also in clear ethics⁴." Mr. Obama also urged people on both sides of the issue to work to reduce the number of women seeking abortions⁵. Just outside the gates of university, hundreds of anti-abortion demonstrators protested his visit.
 
In Sri Lanka, Tamil Tiger rebels are conceding defeat in the country's long-running civil war, hours after they sent out suicide attackers in a last-ditch effort to push back a final assault by government troops. NPR's Philip Reeves has the story.
 
The battle has reached its bitter end and the guerrillas have decided⁶ to silence their guns. That's according to a statement on a pro-Tamil Tiger website bearing the name of the senior separatist official. It's not clear what "silence in their guns" means. The Sri Lanka military said today that Tamil Tiger suicide cadres have been coming to the front line and detonating themselves. The rebels are completely surrounded in the tiny scrap⁷ of land of about one square kilometer. It's hard for the media to verify information without access to the area. But the Sri Lanka military says that all of many thousands of civilians⁸ who were trapped in the war zone have got out. It claims to have rescued them. This is undoubtedly⁹ the final military phase in the island's conflict. Some of Sri Lanka's Sinhalese majorities are already celebrating in the streets with dancing and fireworks. Philip Reeves, NPR News.
 
The top Republican lawmaker in the House says speaker Nancy Pelosi should provide evidence to back up her claim that the CIA misled her about harsh interrogation techniques and that she had no idea of methods such as waterboarding were being used. NPR's Allison Keyes reports.
 
Since last week, Pelosi has tried to clarify what she knew about brutal¹⁰ interrogation techniques like waterboarding during the Bush era and when she knew about them. The Speaker has disputed a CIA report that she was told about the use of waterboarding in 2002. But Ohio Republican leader John Boehner told CNN State of the Union:
 
"And if the speaker is accusing the CIA and other intelligence officials of lying or misleading the Congress, then she should come forward with evidence."
 
If not, Boehner says, Pelosi should apologize to intelligence professionals around the world. Boehner says information from the intelligence community is helping¹¹ soldiers protect this country and instead of accusing them of lying, we should be telling them "job well done".
 
This is NPR News.
 
Fire gutted¹² a decades old Mormon church in Cambridge, Massachusetts this morning. The blaze broke out as about 300 people were gathering¹³ in the church, all were evacuated¹⁴ safely. Investigators¹⁵ say the fire started in the building's attic¹⁶.
 
In Kuwait, several women have been elected to seats in Parliament. That's a first for that country. Dale Gavlak has the story.
 
Kuwait’s Parliament has been run by men for nearly half a century. Now all that has changed. The women's resounding¹⁷ victory cast their right to vote and run for office won just four years ago. One other women elected, Massouma al-Mubarak was also Kuwait’s first female Cabinet Minister. Other winners were women's rights activist¹⁸ Rola Dashti, education professor Salwa Al-Jassar and philosophy professor Aseel al-Awadhi. The election also showed fundamentalist Muslims losing seats in the legislature. They won 16 seats. In the previous House, they have 24. Kuwait, one of the few democracies in the gulf¹⁹, has led the region in giving its people political rights. For NPR News, I'm Dale Gavlak in southern Shuneh, Jordan.
 
Gasoline prices have jumped 25 cents a gallon over the past three weeks. The national average now for a self-service regular is $2.30 a gallon. Industry analyst²⁰ Trilby Lundberg cites a number of reasons for the rise in prices at the pump.
 
“Crude oil prices are up nearly five dollars per barrel in these three weeks. Seasonal²¹ regulation for environmental protection purposes have added to cost. We also have seasonal demand rises as we always do."
 
But Lundberg says even with these latest price increases, gas prices are nearly $1.50 a gallon lower now than they were at this time last year.
 
I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.