NPR 2012-05-01

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Speaking at a Washington DC think tank, Brennan launched into an extensive defense⁶ of the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to launch lethal⁷ strikes. He said these attacks protect the lives of Americans and innocent civilians⁸ on the ground.

 

"It’s this surgical⁹ precision—the ability, with laser-like focus, to eliminate the cancerous tumor¹⁰ called an al-Qaeda terrorist while limiting damage to the tissue around it—that makes this counterterrorism tool so essential.”

 

Brennan's speech is time to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the killing¹¹ of Osama bin¹² Laden¹³ on May 2nd of last year. The administration has been using the occasion to trumpet¹⁴ what they see as successes in the fight against terrorism. Larry Abramson, NPR News Washington.

 

A federal judge has blocked a new Texas law that would have prevented Planned Parenthood clinics across the state from receiving state funds for health screening and contraception. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports the clinics do not provide abortions¹⁶ or provide abortion¹⁵ counseling, but the state cut off their funding because they are affiliated¹⁷ with separately funded Planned Parenthood clinics that do.

 

Judge Lee Yeakel appointed by President George W. Bush said that a new state law enacted¹⁸ by a Republican-dominated legislature would likely violate the First Amendment¹⁹ rights of Planned Parenthood clinics by denying them funding because of their affiliation²⁰ with those who advocate and perform abortions. That he said would appear to be a clear violation²¹ of the First Amendment guarantee to freedom of expression and association. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

 

Diplomatic ties between the US and China are being tested by news that the US embassy is giving refuge to a blind Chinese activist²² who had escaped house arrest. In Washington, President Obama would not comment on the matter specifically other than to say that the issue of human rights remains²³ at the forefront of US-China discussions.

 

"Every time we meet with China, the issue of human rights comes up. It is our belief that not only is that the right thing to do because it comports²⁴ with our principles and our belief in freedom and human rights, but also because we actually think China will be stronger.”

 

The president spoke²⁵ during a joint²⁶ news conference with Japan's prime minister.

 

Dow down 15 points. 

 

This is NPR.

 

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit²⁷ against ‘Three Cups of Tea’ author Greg Mortenson. Four readers of his best-selling book about efforts to build schools in Pakistan claimed that the author defrauded²⁸ them by making up some of the story. NPR's Pam Fessler has details.

 

US District Judge Sam Haddon dismissed the suit against Mortenson and his publisher the Penguin²⁹ Group as imprecise, flimsy and speculative³⁰. The suit was brought after news reports that Mortenson fabricated parts of the book, including that he was kidnapped by the Taliban. Defendants³¹ had sought refunds³² for all those who purchased the bestseller. Mortenson used his book to help raise millions of dollars for his charity, the Central Asia Institute, which has helped to build schools in Pakistan. Earlier this month, Mortenson agreed to pay the charity one million dollars after Montana’s attorney general found that the author had mismanaged the group's funds. Pam Fessler, NPR News.

 

One World Trade Center under construction since the twin towers were destroyed in the 9/11 terror attacks now edges up the Empire State Building, is the tallest in New York City. Workers raised a steel column to the top of the building today, putting it just over 1,250 feet. But Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey³³, says there’s much more to the skyscraper³⁴ than meets the eye.

 

“What we build is not only the tallest skyscraper in New York, it is a tower that will be the safest and most secure in the world, one that will also be the most environmentally sustainable office building of its size, anywhere.”

 

The building’s not done. Floors are still being added. It's not expected to reach its full height for at least another year.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.

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