NPR 2008-03-14

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From NPR News in Washington. I’m Paul Brown.

 European stock markets opened lower today, and that performance mirrors what’s been happening elsewhere. Worries about the US economy have sent the dollar tumbling to a 12-year low against the Japanese yen¹ as oil prices hovered² near a record high. NPR’s Louisa Lim reports from Shanghai.

 There was turmoil³ on Asian markets today. The dollar fell to its lowest point against the Japanese yen since 1995, dipping below the 100-yen mark at one point. This as worry surfaced about an economic recession in the US, despite the Federal Reserve’s latest efforts to support credit markets. The drop in the dollar has left oil prices hovering⁴ near an overnight record of above 110 dollars per barrel. Meanwhile, Asian stocks fell the most in a week. Japan’s Nikkei slipped three percent to a new two-year closing low. And Hong Kong closed down nearly five percent. Analysts⁵ described the markets as fearful following news that a Carlyle Group fund had moved closer to collapse⁶. Louisa Lim, NPR News, Shanghai. And Wall Street futures⁷ are sharply lower this morning.

 Geraldine Ferraro has stepped down from her honorary role in Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Ferraro triggered a firestorm for comments suggesting that Barack Obama would not be as successful as he has been in this year’s campaign if he were white. Some people considered the comment racist⁸. But as NPR’s David Schaper reports, Obama himself disagreed.

 At a news conference in Chicago, reporters asked Obama if he thought Ferraro’s comments were racist. “No, you know, I’m always hesitant to throw around words like racist because I don’t think she intended them in that way.” Obama did say the comments were ridiculous and wrong-headed. “The notion that it is a great advantage to me to be an African American named Barack Obama and pursue the presidency⁹, I think, is not a view that has been commonly shared by the general public.” Obama expressed frustration¹⁰ that the issue of race keeps getting raised in this campaign. He added victories in states like Iowa, Wisconsin and Wyoming proved he can win large numbers of non-black voters. David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

 New York State will have a new governor on Monday. Democratic Lieutenant¹² Governor David Paterson is to take over. Democrat¹¹ Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation after a federal sting linked him to a prostitution ring.

 Space Shuttle Endeavour has docked at the International Space Station and lead flight director Mike Moses was all smiles after the event. “I try to keep from smiling too much. Today was a textbook rendezvous¹³ and docking. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Picture-perfect.” The shuttle astronauts have already begun work at the space station. They’ve been unloading parts for a Canadian robot that will eventually take up some outside maintenance work.

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 American soldiers and Iraqi insurgents¹⁴ exchanged fire after rockets rained down on a US base southeast of Baghdad yesterday. No US forces or troops allied¹⁵ with the US were killed. The Iraqi police say the rockets were fired from Mahdi Army strongholds. But the Mahdi Army, which is loyal to Shiite cleric  Muqtada al-Sadr, is supposed to be in a cease-fire mode.

 The Environmental Protection Agency has announced tighter standards for how much ozone¹⁶ in the air is safe to breathe. But the standards are not as tough as earlier planned. NPR’s Elizabeth Shogren has more.

 The new EPA standard means 345 counties across the country have unhealthy air and will have to find ways to cut pollution. That’s four times more counties than violate the existing standard. Pollution from cars, power plants and factories combined with sunlight to create ozone, the primary component¹⁷ of smog. Babies and people with reduced immune systems and lung problems are most vulnerable. Ozone also reduces crop yields and forest growth. Many scientists and public health advocates believe the standard should be even tighter to protect public health and prevent premature¹⁸ death. EPA officials had planned to adopt a separate stricter standard to protect the environment. But they dropped that plan after pressure from the White House. Elizabeth Shogren, NPR News, Washington.

 Police say they have arrested a second suspect charged with the murder of the University of North Carolina student body president. They say suspect Lawrence Alvin Lovett surrendered peacefully after police surrounded his home in Durham. The body of the UNC student body president Eve Carson was found last Wednesday on a street about a mile from campus.

 I’m Paul Brown. NPR News, Washington.