NPR 2008-09-12

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President Bush said today when history reviews America's response to the September 11th attacks, it will find "we did not tire, we did not falter¹ and we did not fail." The president today marked the seventh anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a moment of silence at the White House at 8:46 AM, the exact moment that terrorists crashed the first hijacked² jet into the World Trade Center in New York. A second plane struck the Trade Center a short time later while another plane hit the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks including 184 people inside the Pentagon.

The first major permanent 9/11 memorial was unveiled at the Pentagon today. Hundreds gathered to dedicate the site. NPR's JJ Sutherland reports from the Pentagon.

184 stone benches are scattered³ next to the place where American Airlines Flight 77 plowed⁴ into the building seven years ago. On each is engraved⁵ the name of someone who died here that day. 125 of them face the Pentagon as you read the names-those who died in the building. 59 others with the names of the passengers and crew of the plane face the sky. President George Bush dedicated⁶ the memorial and spoke⁷ to the crowd. "The day will come when most Americans have no living memory of the events of September the 11th. When they visit this memorial, they will learn that the 21st century began with a great struggle between the forces of freedom and the forces of terror." The memorial will be open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week. JJ Sutherland, NPR News, the Pentagon.

In a televised interview tonight on ABC, Republican vice⁸ presidential candidate Sarah Palin said that if Georgia were admitted to NATO, the US would be obliged to defend the former Soviet⁹ republic from Russia. In her exclusive interview with ABC's Charles Gibson, the Alaska governor also explained a previous statement in which she is said to have characterized the Iraq war as a task from God. "I would never presume to know God's will or to speak God's words. But what Abraham Lincoln had said, and that's a repeat in my comments, was 'let us not pray that God is on our side in a war or any other time, but let us pray that we are on God's side.' That's what that comment was all about, Charlie." Palin says she never hesitated when asked by McCain to be his running mate.

Hurricane Ike could hit Texas over the weekend. Emily Donahue has a report on the state's preparations.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said he could not stress enough the threat to Texans from Hurricane Ike. "Finish your preparations because this is a storm that can have extraordinary impact and it's on its way." Mandatory¹⁰ evacuations are in effect along the coast. Some highways have been turned around to allow more cars to get inland. The Port of Houston has shut down through Monday and oil refineries¹¹ are closing. The hurricane is expected to bring a storm surge of at least 14 feet. Perry called this the strongest storm to impact Texas since Rita in 2005.

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With two more US soldiers reported to have been killed in Afghanistan today, 2008 is shaping up to be the deadliest year for US troops since the 2001 invasion. Officials say a US soldier died when insurgents¹² attacked a compound while another died in combat. The killings¹³ bring the total number of US troops who've lost their lives in Afghanistan this year to 113. US forces moved into Afghanistan in October of 2001 in response to the 9/11 attacks.

A deal has been announced between Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and the opposition¹⁴. The power sharing arrangement comes after stop-and-start talks that followed a disputed presidential election in Zimbabwe and political violence there. NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton has more.

South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki, who brokered¹⁵ the political deal for Zimbabwe, called it a unanimous agreement supported by all parties. So it should include President Mugabe's party and the opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai as well as a breakaway faction¹⁶. Mbeki had been harshly criticized over the years for cutting Mugabe too much slack, but he described the accord as made in Zimbabwe and owned by all Zimbabweans. The main holdup during the negotiations¹⁷ was over the division of power in any unity¹⁸ government. And barring any leaks, we won't know till Monday how key posts will be divvied up and whether President Mugabe retains all his authority—that would be unlikely since the opposition has signed on to the Zimbabwe settlement. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Dakar.

Automaker Ford¹⁹ has notified the United Autoworkers Union, because of the slumping²⁰ economy and declining vehicle sales, it has about 4,000 more hourly workers than it needs. Ford, which posted quarterly losses of 8.7 billion dollars, has been offering buyouts to its hourly workers.

On Wall Street, the Dow was up 164 points.