NPR 2012-02-09

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The House speaker says Congress will make sure religiously-affiliated groups are not required to provide birth-control coverage¹ for employees. John Boehner, who is Catholic, says the Obama administration is engaging in an attack on religion.

 

"In imposing² this requirement, the federal government has drifted dangerously beyond its constitutional boundaries, encroaching on religious freedom in a manner that affects millions of Americans and harms some of our nation's most vital institutions."

 

But President Obama has said the requirement is aimed at allowing access to all employees, including those who are not members of a religious group for whom they work.

 

Newt Gingrich has been stumping³ for votes in the battleground state of Ohio as he tries to regain⁴ the momentum⁵ as a frontrunner with Mitt⁶ Romney. But after Rick Santorum's trifecta in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, the GOP presidential landscape remains⁷ uncertain. Santorum's victories delivered a setback⁸ to Mitt Romney who had been trying to build on his big win in Florida.

 

In Egypt, judges investigating American non-governmental organizations accuse the groups of working there for political purposes. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports from Cairo that officials are revealing for the first time the evidence they have collected.

 

Judge Sameh Abu Zeid said at a news conference broadcast on Egyptian state TV that the groups violated numerous Egyptian laws. He said they worked here on tourist visas and without permits for years and received foreign funds here illegally, plus they failed to pay Egyptian taxes, he said. Abu Zeid claimed they have substantial evidence as well as several confessions⁹. At least 16 Americans are among the 43 people referred to trial so far, including the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. At least half of the Americans charged are longer in Egypt. A second judge said those referred to trial face up to five years in prison if convicted of operating illegally in Egypt. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Cairo.

 

Still no letup in the Syrian violence where anti-government activists¹⁰ are accusing troops of firing on civilian¹¹ neighborhoods and killing¹² dozens of people today alone, but that information can not be independently verified with members of the foreign media barred from covering developments inside Syria. The UN estimates more than 5,000 people have been killed since the uprising began there ten months ago.

 

Presidential campaigning in Senegal is swept up in violence ahead of this month's election. An opposition¹³ official says police fired tear gas in one of the towns as the country's president was attempting to hold a rally. The incumbent¹⁴ is seeking a third term in Senegal.

 

At last check on Wall Street, US stocks were mixed with the Dow down 18 points at 12,860, NASDAQ Composite Index up two points at 2,906, S&P 500 down slightly, it's at 1,347.

 

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The estimated cost of building the new World Trade Center has jumped by four billion dollars in the last four years. That's the finding of auditors¹⁵ who say the agency in charge has let cost run rampant¹⁶. Details from NPR's Joel Rose.

 

Auditors describe the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey¹⁷ as "dysfunctional". They say it allowed the estimated cost of the World Trade Center project to balloon to at least 14.8 billion dollars up from 11 billion just four years ago. Much of that difference is due to the rush to open the National September 11th Memorial in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks. The Port Authority expects to be reimbursed¹⁸ for roughly half of the reconstruction¹⁹ by the federal government and insurance payouts. But the agency could still be on the hook for more than seven billion dollars. The Port Authority's director says he takes the auditors' recommendations seriously and plans to overhaul²⁰ the agency's structure. Joel Rose, NPR News, New York.

 

The University of North Dakota is standing²¹ by its nickname Fighting Sioux despite the NCAA's threats. University President Robert Kelley says the school has decided²² to resume using the native American Indian name and logo, while the state reviews petitions calling for the issue to be put to a state-wide vote. However, the NCAA has said that the university risks sanctions if it continues using the nickname and logo.

 

Indiana is citing a stage builder for "playing indifference²³" in the State Fair collapse²⁴ that killed seven people last August. Commissioner²⁵ Lori Torres says Mid-America Sound Corporation committed three major safety violations²⁶. The state's Labor²⁷ Department has issued a 63,000-dollar fine.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

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