NPR 2010-08-18

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The Iraqi capital's reeling from its deadliest strike in weeks. A suicide bomber¹ attacked army recruits, killing² at least 57. The BBC's Hugh Sykes reports security forces are favorite targets.

Baghdad traffic policemen and federal police have been murdered in significant numbers over the past few weeks. Members of the mostly Sunni government-backed Sahwa militia³ or the "Awakening⁴", the people who changed sides from working with al-Qaeda in Iraq to fighting against them, they have been attacked as well. And now, these men queuing for jobs in the army seems to be very clearly-targeted on the Iraqi security forces, not those awful manslaughter, random⁵ attacks on market crowds that used to happen here in Baghdad a few years ago.

The BBC's Hugh Sykes reporting.

Pakistanis clamor to get whatever international aid they can at this warehouse⁶ in Peshawar, a familiar scene across much of Pakistan where floods have ravaged⁷ much of the country and spread disease. At least 1,500 people have died in the last two weeks.

A Palestinian man may still be in the custody⁸ of guards at the Turkish Embassy in Tel Aviv, where he reportedly attempted to take hostages. The man's been shot and wounded. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro says the incident comes amid heightened tension between Israel and Turkey.

There're very tense relations between Israel and Turkey right now after an incident that happened over a month ago when the Israeli military stormed a flotilla that was traveling to the Gaza Strip and killed nine Turkish citizens. And so these relations have been extremely tense and clearly now there's some negotiation⁹ going on between Israel and officials at the Turkish Embassy.

NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro.

The Obama administration says it wants fundamental change in mortgage-lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but as NPR's Scott Horsley reports, the shape of that change is still up in the air.

The Obama administration invited bankers, economists¹⁰ and housing experts to a conference to discuss what to do with Fannie and Freddie—the failed mortgage lenders were taken over by the government almost two years ago. Treasury¹¹ Secretary Timothy Geithner says Fannie and Freddie must not go back to financing risky¹² home loans and sticking taxpayers¹³ with the bill, but he warned changes will have to be made carefully so as not to disrupt the fragile housing market.

"This is a test for Washington. The stakes are very high. For many Americans, their home is their largest financial asset, and the housing industry supports millions of jobs."

The administration is now expected to unveil its plans for Fannie and Freddie before next year. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

General Motors is recalling nearly 250,000 crossover sport utility vehicles for possible damage to their safety belts. Those affected¹⁴ include the Chevrolet Traverse, Saturn¹⁵ Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave.

Last check on Wall Street, Dow was up more than 100 points at 10,406, NASDAQ up 28 at 2,209.

This is NPR News.

Bobby Thomson, the former player behind one of baseball's legendary¹⁶ moments, has died. Thomson hit that home run which clinched¹⁷ the National League pennant¹⁸ for the New York Giants in 1951.

"There's a long drive. It’s gonna be it, I believe. The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the pennant. The Giants win the pennant…"

It became known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World". Thomson passed away last night after several years of failing health. He was 86 years old.

In Wyoming, it is Primary Election Day. Wyoming Public Radio's Bob Beck reports that the murky¹⁹ race is the Republican nomination²⁰ for governor.

With incumbent²¹ Democrat²² Dave Freudenthal wrapping up his second term, four high-profile Republicans have targeted the seat. They are State Auditor²³ Rita Meyer, former US Attorney Matt Mead²⁴, who's the grandson of former Senator and Governor Cliff Hansen, Speaker of the House Colin Simpson, who's the son of former US Senator Alan Simpson and former legislator and State Agriculture Director Ron Micheli, who's been endorsed²⁵ by a number of Right to Life and conservative organizations. County clerks say the high interest in the Republican primary has increased turnout. The winner of the GOP primary faces either former State Democratic Party Chair Leslie Petersen or former University of Wyoming football player Pete Gosar in the general election. Bob Beck, NPR News, Laramie.

Eli Lilly is putting a stop to one of its experimental treatments for late-stage Alzheimer's disease. The company says early results from studies of the drug reveal links to worsening clinical measures such as cognition.