NPR 2010-07-31

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Rescuers in Los Angeles are racing¹ to find victims who may still be trapped in the rubble² of a collapsed³ building. NPR's Mandalit del Barco was on the scene where, she says, a tampered⁴ gas line exploded.

Approximately 6:15 am, a welding factory in South LA, an industrial section of the city, exploded, killing⁵ at least two people, one of whom might have been a worker inside a building. His body was thrown from the explosion out into the street. Another victim was in a car, in a pickup⁶ truck actually, outside of the factory. And a wire fell on the truck and electrocuted him.

NPR's Mandalit del Barco.

North of Los Angeles in Palmdale, many residents are waiting to see if it's safe to return home in the wake of a spreading wildfire. Yesterday, thousands were evacuated⁸. Deputy Fire Chief Michael Bryant says the fire's driven by several factors.

"Three main components⁹: the fuel, we have very dry fuel; the slope that the fuel is on; and third is the wind."

The fire has burned about 12.5 square miles.

The economy is still growing, but not as fast as analysts¹⁰ had hoped. Gross domestic products grew 2.4% April to June, far slower than the first months of the year. PNC Financial's chief economist¹¹ that is Stuart Hoffman says the news is promising¹².

"Pretty much as expected, maybe just a touch of disappointment. But I would say that it still confirms the economy is in recovery, albeit¹³ one that is only half-speed."

President Obama attributes economic recovery in part to his administration's bailout of the auto¹⁴ industry and said as much today at a Chrysler plant in Michigan.

"The fact that we're standing¹⁵ in this magnificent factory today is a testament¹⁶ to the decisions we made and the sacrifices that you and countless¹⁷ stakeholders across this industry and this country were willing to make."

Three more American service members have died in Afghanistan. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports that July has been the deadliest month for Americans in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion.

Firefights and roadside bomb attacks took a heavy toll¹⁸ in July as a surge of 30,000 US troops pushed into new areas of the country. Officials say US-led NATO troops killed and captured hundreds of Taliban fighters and commanders, but at the price of about three US soldiers killed in action every day. Also today in Kabul, a road accident led to a riot when a vehicle carrying American contractors¹⁹ fatally collided with an Afghan civilian²⁰ car. Four Afghans died in the accident near the road to Kabul airport. Angry protesters burned cars and shouted slogans against foreigners in Afghanistan before police'd dispersed²¹ the crowd. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Kondoz, Afghanistan.

Not much movement in US stocks today. At last check, Dow was down one point at 10,466.

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Northwest Airlines will pay $38 million to settle price fixing allegations. NPR's Carrie Johnson reports on the settlement with the Justice Department.

Prosecutors²² say a cargo²³ unit of Northwest Airlines conspired²⁴ to fix prices for international shipments. Executives of the cargo unit met with competitors to boost rates they charged to customers who wanted to send equipment and food across the world. The cargo unit no longer operates, and Northwest Airlines was bought by Delta²⁵ two years ago, but aftershocks from a long Justice Department investigation²⁶ continue to be felt. In all, 16 airlines have pleaded guilty to breaking anti-trust laws by setting artificially high prices for cargo and flights between the US and Japan. The companies have agreed to pay more than $1.6 billion in fines. Four airline industry executives pleaded guilty, and another man is facing charges. Carrie Johnson, NPR News, Washington.

The Army private charged with leaking military secrets to Wikileaks has been moved from Kuwait to a jail in Virginia. However, the Pentagon is not saying if it believes Bradley Manning was responsible for leaking Afghanistan war documents to the whistleblowing website.

Pakistan is reeling from massive flooding that has killed more than 400 people and spread devastation²⁷ across parts of the country. The government says the top priority was to evacuate⁷ the people who have been stranded²⁸ by the deluge²⁹.

In the US, the Commerce Department has a much better picture about the recession. Apparently³⁰, it was worse than we thought last year. Revisions issued today, the government believes the economy shrank 2.6% in 2009, not 2.4% as previously thought