NPR 2010-06-14

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The government's point man for responding to the Gulf¹ Coast oil spill disaster says he expects BP to offer a new improved containment² plan as early as today. NPR's Neda Ulaby has more.

Admiral Thad Allen of the US Coast Guard appeared on CBS's "Face The Nation" to say the government sent two letters demanding that BP provide a more aggressive strategy for capturing gushing³ oil.

"We wanted them to give us a faster plan with greater redundancy and greater reliability⁴ to move forward, and we hope to get an answer on that later on today. In fact, we will get an answer."

An increase in the estimated flow rate has partly spurred this new urgency. The high end is now thought to be as much as 40,000 barrels of oil, polluting the water every day. That's twice as much as last week's estimate. Allen said the Coast Guard is dropping sensors⁵ in the water to take pressure readings and gather data independently from BP, but he said the exact amount will only be known once the well is completely capped, and the flow can be controlled. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

The Arab world's top diplomat⁶ is declaring support for Gaza. Arab League chief Amr Moussa's visit to the Palestinian territory is part of an international push to end the blockade Israel imposed three years ago after Hamas seized control of Gaza. Israel has been under pressure to agree to an independent international commission to investigate last month's raid on a flotilla trying to break the blockade. The raid left nine activists⁷ dead.

Thousands of ethnic⁸ Uzbeks have been fleeing their burning communities in southern Kyrgyzstan. What appears to be targeted ethnic violence in central Asia has claimed nearly 100 lives. Russia has sent paratroopers to protect its military sites in Kyrgyzstan, but as NPR's David Greene reports, the Kremlin has not yet fulfilled Kyrgyzstan's request for peacekeeping forces.

There are reports of as many as 75,000 Uzbek refugees spilling into Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan. The Uzbekistan government reported that figure to a Russian news agency; it has not been independently confirmed. Eyewitnesses⁹ on the ground in southern Kyrgyzstan described chilling scenes of Uzbek residents rushing to the border while being fired upon or beaten. They're being targeted by ethnic Kyrgyz, mostly young men roaming the streets and gangs. Some Kyrgyz residents interviewed blamed Uzbeks for starting the fighting. Whoever is responsible, the nation's fragile interim¹⁰ government has lost control of itself and is begging for Russia to send peacekeepers. Russian officials plan to meet Monday with a security alliance of former Soviet¹¹ states to consider deploying¹² a joint¹³ force. Similar ethnic fighting gripped this region in 1990, and Soviet forces were sent to calm the violence. David Greene, NPR News, Moscow.

Two musicals—one new, one a revival—are the dominant¹⁴ nominees¹⁵ at tonight's 2010 Tony Awards with 11 nominations¹⁶ apiece. Fela is the energetic Afro-beat biography of a Nigerian superstar. La Cage aux Folles is the classic Jerry Herman-Harvey Fierstein musical. The Tonys get underway at eight o'clock at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

This is NPR News in Washington.

Spirit Airlines is canceling all of its flights through Tuesday, stranding¹⁷ thousands more passengers as a pilot strike continues into its second day. The discount carrier announced the cancellations on its website today. The airline and its pilots have been negotiating pay, scheduling and benefits for more than three years.

In Boston tonight, the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers play Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The series is tight; each team has won two games. The first to win four games secures the championship. As NPR's Tom Goldman reports, much attention tonight is focused on ailing¹⁸ Lakers center Andrew Bynum.

In this back-and-forth series, there have been few if any trends established from game to game, except this one: when LA's seven-foot center Andrew Bynum is playing, he helps his team. Conversely, in last Thursday's Game 4, Bynum aggravated¹⁹ the right knee injury he's been dealing²⁰ with and played just 12 minutes. His absence helped Boston forward Glen Davis whose scoring and rebounding²¹ fuel the Celtics' victory. After Game 4, Bynum had fluid drained from the knee and says he'll play tonight. How effectively is the question. For Boston, meanwhile, point guard Rajon Rondo has made only four of 15 free throws against LA. Coach Doc Rivers thinks in one game that inhibited²² the slashing²³, speedy guard from driving to the basket and getting fouled²⁴. Rivers says he's watching Rondo's body language to make sure the player who drives the Celtics offence stays aggressive. Tom Goldman, NPR News, Boston.

A Japanese space probe is back from a trip to an asteroid²⁵. Japanese space officials say the explorer incinerated on re-entry after traveling four billion miles in seven years, but before burning up, it released a capsule that's expected to contain the first asteroid dust ever collected.

Rebecca Sheir, NPR News, Washington.