NPR 2011-04-15

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A budget compromise has the Republican-led House's vote. Now, it's on to the Democratically-led Senate. NPR's Audie Cornish has a recap of the latest vote to keep the government funded for the rest of this fiscal¹ year.

The House passed the package on a vote of 260-167, and to get it through, Republicans had to rely on Democratic support because nearly 60 GOP members crossed party lines to vote against it. Most of the criticism was focused on how the deal arrived at the mix of more than $38 billion in savings². Some of it came from shutting down programs already ending, taking back surplus money, or in some cases, they're savings that won't take effect for several years. But it's still the largest one-time budget cut ever, and it heads next to the Senate. Audie Cornish, NPR News, the Capitol.

Libyan rebels are appealing to NATO to launch more air strikes against troops in the western city of Misrata, where Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's forces are laying siege. Covering developments from Benghazi, NPR's Peter Kenyon says witnesses are reporting at least nine deaths in Misrata today.

In the latest sign of defiance³, Misrata residents took to the streets to demonstrate against Muammar Gaddafi in the face of a fierce artillery⁴ barrage⁵ by pro-government forces. Rebel Finance and Oil Minister Ali Tarhouni, who secretly traveled to Misrata last week by fishing boat, says the people of the last major rebel holdout in western Libya are heroes.

"I went there to boost their morale⁶ — the fact of the matter they boosted my morale. It's a very courageous⁷ city. It's our small Leningrad."

Meeting in Berlin, NATO ministers said their plans were taking robust⁸ action to protect civilians⁹ and did not announce plans for increased strikes. Libyan state TV reported NATO strikes west of Tripoli. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Benghazi.

The European Union is lifting its sanctions against Libya's former Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, even as he faces ongoing¹⁰ accusations¹² over his alleged¹³ role in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. British authorities defended the decision to unfreeze Koussa's assets, saying he will try to persuade other senior members of Gaddafi's regime to defect as he had in recent weeks.

There's been a shakeup at the Federal Aviation Administration. NPR's Giles Snyder reports a top official has resigned following several reports of air traffic controllers found asleep on the job.

A statement from FAA Administrator¹⁴ Randy Babbitt says he has accepted the resignation of Hank Krakowski, the official in charge of the air traffic control system. Babbitt is promising¹⁵ a top-to-bottom review, and so was Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

"This is an outrageous¹⁶ situation that will not stand on my watch."

Lahood speaking on CBS's Early Show. The FAA has added a second overnight controller at 26 airports and a radar¹⁷ facility. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 14 points at 12,285, and NASDAQ was off one at 2,760.

This is NPR News.

It's the end of an airing daytime drama. After more than 40 years on television, the Emmy Award-winning programs "All My Children" and "One Life To Live" are being canceled. The final episodes will air in September of 2011 and January, 2012 respectively. It's just a sign of the times. ABC says its audience research shows people would rather see programs on "transformation¹⁸, food and lifestyle." 

New developments out of Beijing today on the fate of a detained artist, Ai Weiwei. A Beijing-backed newspaper in Hong Kong says Chinese police say they have evidence that the artist evaded¹⁹ taxes. NPR's Louisa Lim reports authorities detained him more than ten days ago but have not yet filed charges.

The Wenhuibao newspaper said investigators²⁰ had evidence that Ai Weiwei is suspected of avoiding taxes and destroying documents. It said that Ai had cooperated with the authorities after initially²¹ refusing to do so and had begun confessing. The paper also said that the artist was suspected of spreading pornography on the Internet and bigamy since he has a child with a woman other than his wife. Ai's sister told Reuters that the bigamy accusation¹¹ was absurd and said it was clearly against the law to hold him for so long without notifying the family. The family believes the outspoken²² artist has been targeted because of his activism. A harsh crackdown is under way in China, with dozens of activists²³ being detained or simply disappearing. Louisa Lim, NPR News, Beijing.

US stocks ending the day mixed with the Dow up at last check 14 points.