NPR 2010-09-16

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President Obama is praising the fact that lawmakers appear to be moving towards approval of a small business jobs bill. However, the president blasted those he says are standing¹ in the way of his plan to extend tax cuts for middle-income households. Speaking at the White House today, Mr. Obama said the country simply cannot afford to extend cuts for the wealthiest American households — individuals earning more than $200,000 dollars a year and households with incomes above $250,000 annually².

"$700 billion to give a tax cut worth an average of $100,000 to millionaires and billionaires. And it's a tax cut economists³ say would do little to add momentum⁴ to our economy. Now, I just don't believe this makes any sense."

It's estimated allowing all the Bush-era tax cuts to continue would cost the government roughly $3.6 trillion over ten years.

World Trade Organization has ruled that Boeing company received illegal government subsidies⁵. But as NPR's David Schaper reports, US and European sources differ over the impact of the ruling.

US sources familiar with the case confirm that the WTO has issued a preliminary and confidential⁶ ruling that some government research and development grants, tax breaks and infrastructure⁷ support provided to Boeing in recent years violate international trade laws. European trade officials are claiming victory. But the US sources claim the amount of support for Boeing ruled to be illegal is far less than the European Union subsidies given to AirBus that the WTO ruled to be illegal back in June. Chicago-based Boeing and its European rival AirBus have been battling for years over subsidies that both claim help the other gain an unfair competitive advantage in the worldwide commercial airplane market and there's a lot at stake. It's a market estimated to be worth three trillion dollars over the next couple of decades. David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

The Obama administration says oil and gas companies must plug thousands of old wells and dismantle⁸ unused production platforms in the Gulf⁹ of Mexico. NPR's Jeff Brady says the new rules have been expected even before BP's Horizon disaster.  

The industry calls the thousands of unused wells, platforms and pipelines¹⁰ "idle iron", equipment that once was used to produce oil and gas but now just sits there. Companies have been reluctant to dismantle some of the equipment because it might be used again some day. But federal regulators worry the equipment could become damaged, especially during storms. The new rules say that if a well has been inactive for five years, it must be permanently¹¹ plugged and production platforms that aren't being used have to be dismantled¹² in a timely manner. The rules affect nearly 3,500 wells and 650 platforms. A spokeswoman for the American Petroleum¹³ Institute says the new rules were expected and for most companies complying with them won't be an issue. Jeff Brady, NPR News.

Stocks move higher today. They're remaining within a fairly narrow trading range, as the government announced the nation's mines, factories and utilities were a bit busier last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 46 points; the NASDAQ was up 11 points today.

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A federal appeals court announced today it has rejected an Indian tribe's challenge to a bridge project intended to restore the health of the Everglades in South Florida, the three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling the federal courts do not have jurisdiction¹⁴ over the tribe's claims. The tribe had claimed the project west of Miami violated environmental laws and would cause flooding of nearby lands. The mile-long bridge is intended to improve waterflow in the Everglades.

Known for his sardonic¹⁵ wit, longtime Newsman Edwin Newman has died. Newman was a steady presence on NBC for more than three decades, beginning in the 1950s. He was 91. NPR's Elizabeth Blair has more.

Edwin Newman did it all. He reported the news, analyzed¹⁶ it and gave his opinion about it. He interviewed heads of state, athletes and artists. Newman was the first to report President John F. Kennedy's assassination¹⁷ on NBC radio. The next day, he delivered a personal commentary on NBC TV.

"One's first feeling, of course, was that it was a dream, not real. After that, came the dispiriting hopeless feeling that it was banal¹⁸ and absurdity¹⁹. And that is the feeling that persists."

Edwin Newman wrote best-selling books on language and how it's abused on a daily basis. But he also wrote that a world without mistakes would unquestionably be less fun. Edwin Newman died of pneumonia²⁰ in Oxford²¹, England. Elizabeth Blair, NPR News, Washington.

In an effort to capture more of the international freight business, giant UPS, already known for its brown trucks and large fleet of planes, now says it'll begin offering ocean freight service. The Atlanta-based package shipper says the new service is already available between the US and Japan, with plans to expand it to other parts of Asia over the next six months.