NPR 2008-05-10

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US military officials in Baghdad are disputing Iraqi government claim that they captured the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq near the northwestern city of Mosul. NPR’s Ivan Watson reports from Baghdad.

 At midnight on Thursday, Iraqi officials announced on state TV the capture of Abu Ayyub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. But US military authorities say the man, who was captured last night, is not in fact al-Masri. They say the suspect is another al-Qaeda in Iraq militant¹ who uses the same codename. Iraqi security forces have broadcast false alarms in the past, claiming to have killed al-Masri. The insurgent² leader was last heard speaking in an audio recording³ last month when he called for a celebration after the US death toll⁴ in Iraq passed the 4,000 mark. Al-Qaeda in Iraq has been on the defensive⁵ for the past year, fighting the war on several fronts against US and Iraqi security forces as well as against Sunni-Arab tribal⁶ militias⁷, which are being supported by the US. Ivan Watson, NPR News, Baghdad.

 Frustration is mounting over Myanmar’s delays in allowing the international community to deliver aid supplies to cyclone⁸ survivors⁹. The former Burma’s military rulers say they want the aid, but don’t want any foreigners to deliver it. Ky Luu is head of the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. He says Myanmar needs to clear the way. “We urge the government of, er, the regime of Burma to open up access to all humanitarian¹⁰ actors.” US military planes loaded with relief supplies are on the ground in Thailand. But so far, they’ve not been cleared to land in Myanmar. Officials fear up to 100,000 people may have been killed. The UN says 1.5 million people have been severely¹¹ affected¹².

 Spring-time storms have been battering¹³ parts of the eastern US. A tornado¹⁴ flipped¹⁵ big rigs on an Interstate outside Greensboro, North Carolina overnight. One person was killed. An apparent tornado wrecked¹⁶ a shopping area in Mississippi yesterday and heavy rain drenched¹⁷ Virginia last night amid tornado warnings.

 Congressional negotiators have unveiled a compromise farm bill. NPR’s Brian Naylor reports.

 About three quarters of the money in the farm bill goes to nutrition programs like food stamps, which will receive a ten-billion-dollar increase. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat¹⁸, says people across the nation will be affected by the measure. “This is a strong bipartisan farm bill that benefits every American from Cumming, Iowa, population 162, to New York City, population eight million.” The bill also contains billions of dollars in subsidies¹⁹ for farmers at a time of record crop prices. The White House says it contains little in the way of reform, but the administration has not said the president will veto the bill. It’s expected to pass the House and Senate next week. Brian Naylor, NPR News, the Capitol.

 And you’re listening to NPR News from Washington.

 Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will both be campaigning in Oregon today. Obama will begin the day discussing the economy with high-tech²⁰ workers near Portland and end it at a rally at the University of Oregon in Eugene. Clinton plans to lead a panel discussion in Portland. She’ll be in Kentucky tonight for a Democratic Party dinner.

 A fund-raiser for Clinton said she raised more than one million dollars online in the 24 hours after Tuesday’s primaries. But her campaign continues to be short on cash. NPR’s Peter Overby reports.

 The campaign’s national finance chairman, Hassan Nemazee, told NPR that in addition to the Internet funds, a major donor²¹ event in Washington D.C. also brought in more than a million dollars. But Clinton operatives have mostly kept mum about campaign finances. For this week’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, Clinton spent 4.5 million dollars on TV, barely half of Barack Obama’s TV buy. In Oregon, Obama is outspending Clinton on the ground. Independent pollster Tim Hibbitts says Clinton has seven field offices to the Obama campaign’s 17. “They’re on the ground in a lot more places in Oregon, and they are on the ground in some small and mid-sized towns that I think a presidential campaign has not opened an office in for quite some time.” Oregon’s primary is May 20th, but vote-by-mail ballots²² have already gone out. Peter Overby, NPR News, Washington.

 There have been more fierce gun battles in Beirut. Hezbollah gunmen have seized control of several neighborhoods in the capital from forces loyal to the western-backed government. Lebanese security officials say at least 11 people have died and more than 20 have been wounded over the past three days.