NPR 2008-08-12

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President Bush today told reporters in the White House Rose Garden that recent actions by Russia against the former Soviet¹ Republic of Georgia represent a dramatic and brutal² escalation³ of violence. And just back from the Beijing Olympics, the president pressed Moscow to accept an immediate⁴ cease-fire and pull back its troops. "Russia's government must respect Georgia's territorial⁶ integrity and sovereignty. The Russian government must reverse the course it appears to be on and accept this peace agreement as a first step toward resolving this conflict. " Fighting comes on the heels of a Georgian offensive that began last week to try and regain⁷ control of the restive⁸ province of South Ossetia. Mikheil Saakashvili, President of the former Soviet Republic, says Russian forces have captured several towns, a military base and a main highway near the central city of Gori, essentially⁹, cutting the country in half.

John McCain meanwhile is stepping up his criticism of Russia. From member station WITF in Harrisburg, Scott Detrow reports.

McCain's calling for an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council and the G-7 to address the crisis, though he says the United States shouldn't get involved militarily. The Arizona senator says he'd send Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Russia to mediate⁵. McCain says he's suspicious of Russia's motives¹¹. "I think it's very clear that Russian ambitions are to restore the old Russian Empire, not the Soviet Union but the Russian Empire which means a near abroad, which means you have great influence or control over surrounding countries. " The presumptive Republican presidential nominee¹² says it's clear Vladimir Putin is still calling the shots in Russia, despite handing over the presidency¹³ to Dimtry Medvedev earlier this year. For NPR News, I am Scott Detrow in Harrisburg.

Federal agents descended¹⁴ on New Orleans housing organization hired by the city to clean up some of the damage from Hurricane Katrina today. The raid was part of a broader fraud investigation¹⁵ into New Orleans Affordable¹⁶ Housing Corporation. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports.

FBI and IRS officials arrived at the New Orleans Affordable Homeownership Corp or NOAH with a subpoena¹⁷ related to a broader fraud investigation. At issue is whether the non-profit company billed the city for work that was never performed. According to officials familiar with the probe, NOAH was supposed to help low-income and elderly victims of Hurricane Katrina. Under its agreement with the city, NOAH was supposed to hire contractors¹⁸ to demolish¹⁹ or gut²⁰ homes ravaged²¹ by the hurricane. Investigators²² have found among other things, that homes that were supposed to have been destroyed were still standing²³. A federal grand jury authorized²⁴ federal agents to collect documents related to the non-profit company's finances and its client files. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 48 points to end the session at 11,782.

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In results from the Beijing Olympics, some major comebacks to report, one that helped swimmer Michael Phelps capture his second gold medal of the Games, and the other that prevented American Katie Hoff from getting the gold. The 100-meter relay by Jason Lezak and the men's 400-meter freestyle which Phelps swam the lead helped the US team take the gold medal from the French. It marked the second gold medal for Phelps at this year's Games. Hoff who led in the final turn of the women's 400 freestyle was defeated however by Rebecca Adlington of Britain. This year's Olympics are shaping up to be perhaps the most live ever Summer Games with 114 million viewers tuning²⁵ in for at least part of the broadcast over the first two days.

Pilots for Delta²⁶ and Northwest have agreed to cooperate under one contract if the airline gets federal approval to merge¹⁰. Delta's acquisition of Northwest would create the world's largest airline. From member station WABE in Atlanta, Charles Edwards reports.

With the agreement, Atlanta-based Delta and Northwest have done something unprecedented²⁷. That's according to Captain Robert Hazzard, a spokesperson for Delta's Pilots Union. "Well the significance of today's announcement is this is the first time in the history of any airline merger²⁸ that a pilot contract has been agreed to by both the company and both pilot groups in advance of the close of the merger."  Airline industry experts say such free merger deals are important. They point back to 2005 when US Airways²⁹ bought America West. The two companies are now US Airways, but America West pilots are still operating under a separate contract. Delta and Northwest are in the clear though. The remaining question is how will they blend seniority list from each airline into one. Seniority determines a pilot's pay, benefits and work schedule. For NPR News, I'm Charles Edwards in Atlanta.