NPR 2010-07-19

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BP says its containment¹ cap may stay shut and stop its oil leak until a relief well kills the broken well next month. Eileen Fleming of member station WWNO reports it depends on testing that so far shows no oil leaking under the seabed.

BP spokesman Doug Suttles says pressure on the containment cap is lower than hoped, but high enough to indicate the well is intact.

"No one associated with this whole activity, whether you're with BP or any of the government groups or anyone who lives along the Gulf² Coast, wants to see any more oil flow into the Gulf of Mexico. And we're hopeful that if the encouraging signs continue, we'll be able to continue the integrity test all the way to the point that we get the well killed."

If problems develop, the cap would be reopened to relieve pressure. Oil would gush³ into the water for up to three days while containment vessels⁴ would be hooked up again. Officials say the containment cap that's been holding back oil since Thursday could be shut again if a hurricane develops. For NPR News, I'm Eileen Fleming in New Orleans.

Vice⁵ President Joe Biden said today that although some people who have taken part in Tea Party events have made what he called really unfortunate comments, he doesn't think the Tea Party movement is racist⁶.

"I don't believe that; very conservative, very different views on government and a whole lot of things, but it is not a racist organization."

Another topic Biden told ABC: He thinks the Democrats⁷ will retain control of the House and the Senate after the November elections, saying they'll 'shock the heck out of everybody'. Some Democrats in South Carolina were shocked when Alvin Greene won the Democratic nomination⁸ for Senate. He's a speaker for the short time since for as shortly for the first time since then at his home town of Manning.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began a South Asia tour today. In the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, NPR's Jackie Northam is traveling with the secretary.

Secretary Clinton's two-day tour to Islamabard is meant in part to shore up US development committments to Pakistan and to speak with the country's political and military leaders about the war against Islamist radicals⁹ in their country and in neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistani officials have been inserting themselves into a tentative peace process in Afghanistan. There's also an outreach effort to appeal to the Pakistani people, and the US sentiment runs high here in Pakistan. Clinton was last here in October when she held several robust¹⁰ town hall meetings, where she heard an earful of complaints. She plans to meet again with many of those same people during more town halls planned for this trip. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Islamabad.

In eastern Pakistan today, a man blew himself up at a Shiite mosque¹¹, injuring several worshipers. There were several other suicide bombings in the region today. A man killed 43 people in Baghdad; a second killed three people in Ambar Pronvince. Previously¹², civilians¹³ were killed in Kabul, Afghanistan.

This is NPR News.

A heat wave is affecting much of the nation for another day. New York City is offering cooling centers today and tomorrow. Out west, forecasters report close-to-record high temperatures and unusually humid conditions in California. It's 110 degrees in Phoenix¹⁴, Arizona so hot. People are being urged not to walk barefoot outside.

Suspected drug hit man burst into a garden party in northern Mexico early this morning. Police say 17 people were shut to death, another 18 people were injured. The massacre¹⁵ occured in a region which has seen escalating¹⁶ voilence between rival gangs.

A drug lord known as the Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean has been arrested after a manhunt lasting¹⁷ more than a decade. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports.

No one really knows how much cocaine¹⁸ Jose Figueroa Agosto shipped from Colombia to the United States over the years, but it was enough to finance luxuries like armored cars and a ranch¹⁹ with a private zoo. The notorious drug lord escaped from prison in 1999 after being convicted for killing²⁰ a man suspected of stealing his drugs. And he's been on the lam throughout the Colombia ever since. Agosto's believed to have taunted²¹ police on call-in radio shows and he was almost caught several times. He was apprehended²² Saturday after a high-speed chase in Porto Rico. Agosto is wanted in the Dominican Republic for charges that included drug trafficking, kidnapping, money laundering²³ and murder. Authorities are expected to announce today actions to be taken against him. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

In golf, the winner of the British Open is Louis Oosthuizen. The 27-year-old South African finished 16-under-par, seven in front of Lee Westwood for his first major championship