NPR 2008-10-19

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President Bush is conferring at Camp David with the presidents of France and the European Commission about the global financial crisis, and plans for a summit of world leaders to be held in the US in the coming weeks. NPR's Curt¹ Nickisch has more.

President Bush says he will host a meeting of both developed and developing nations in the near future. "And together we will work to strengthen and modernize² our nation's financial systems, so we can help ensure that this crisis doesn't happen again." Mr. Bush made the comments before a meeting at Camp David with the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and French President Nicolas Sarkozy. They have been lobbying the US to back European measures to restructure the global financial system. Mr. Sarkozy spoke³ through a translator. "We believe in the ability of the American people to come up with the answers the world is waiting for, is expecting." President Bush says any reshaping of global financial rules should still safeguard the free market system. Curt Nickisch, NPR News.

The presidential candidates are campaigning in battleground states today and exchanging verbal jabs over tax cut proposals. Democrat⁴ Barack Obama says his GOP rival John McCain would focus tax cuts on the wealthy, which Obama says has not worked. "For eight years, we've seen what happens when we put the extremely wealthy and well-connected ahead of working people. Now John McCain thinks, that's, the way to rebuild this economy, to double down on George Bush's policy of giving more and more tax breaks to those at the very top, in the false hope that it will all trickle⁵ down on the rest of you." Obama speaking in St. Louis. McCain said Obama's tax proposal would redistribute wealth along the lines of socialist⁶ leaders in Europe. "America didn't become the greatest nation on earth by giving our money to the government to spread the wealth around." McCain speaking in North Carolina today.

The speaker of Iran's parliament is urging the US and other nations to find a diplomatic solution to the showdown over his country's nuclear program. Lisa Schlein reports from Geneva.

The US and other western powers accuse Iran of wanting to develop an atom bomb. Ali Larijani says Iran's nuclear program is strictly⁷ for peaceful purposes. He says his country will not give in to threats. He criticizes the United States and Britain for going hastily to the UN Security Council to ask for additional sanctions upon Iran. He speaks through an interpreter. "Of course, the substance of this, the content of this resolution is, to a large extent, very scandalous." In June, western powers offered Iran a series of diplomatic and economic incentives⁸, in return for its promise to suspend uranium enrichment. Iran ignored an ultimatum⁹ for a clear response to their offer. Tehran says it won't be pressured by deadlines. Lisa Schlein reporting.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Police searching for a six-year-old Las Vegas boy who was kidnapped Wednesday are questioning two persons of interest in the case. One is the boy's grandfather, and they are seeking a third, a Mexican national. The boy was taken at gunpoint by men posing as police officers. Las Vegas Police Captain Vincent Cannito says investigators¹⁰ using search warrants have seized a good deal of evidence. "In addition to some of the other evidence that has been collected and has been analyzed¹¹, we have recovered a large amount of cash, through some of these search warrants." Investigators believe the grandfather may have stolen millions of dollars from people involved in a Mexican drug ring and the abduction may have been a message to him.

Canada has become the first nation to begin the process of banning plastic baby bottles that contain a chemical known as BPA for short. As Dan Karpenchuk reports BPA is used in a wide range of products, including bottles and automobile¹² interiors.

Researchers say Bisphenol A is especially dangerous for infants and fetuses¹³; prolonged exposure can lead to heart disease, diabetes¹⁴, or liver problems. Tests have also shown it can lead to cancer or infertility¹⁵ in animals. Canada's Health and Environment Departments now say Ottawa would move to ban the sale, importation and advertising¹⁶ of plastic baby bottles made with BPA. Six month ago, it began the first stage by saying BPA would be declared a toxic¹⁷ substance. The chemical is used to make plastics hard and shatter-proof such as large water-cooler bottles, but tests have shown BPA can leach¹⁸ into food and beverages¹⁹ when it is heated. The health minister notes that levels of BPA that most adults are exposed to are not harmful, but environmental activists²⁰ argue that studies indicate the need for a complete ban on the chemical used in consumer products. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.