NPR 2008-12-04

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President-elect Barack Obama says he is glad to see the Big Three automakers put forward more serious plans for restructuring, though he says he will withhold⁴ judgment⁵ on those plans until after auto¹ executives appear at Congressional hearings. NPR's David Schaper reports.

At a Chicago news conference to introduce New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson as his choice to be secretary of commerce, Mr. Obama told reporters Congress did the right thing by demanding that the auto company executives present more detailed⁶ restructuring plans before voting on an auto industry bailout. "We should maintain a viable⁷ auto industry, but we should also make sure that any government assistance that's provided is designed for a, is based on realistic assessments⁸ of what the auto market is going to be.” And President-elect Obama says the auto companies need a realistic plan for remaining viable over the long term before they should expect any financial help from the federal government. David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

Even as the heads of the major auto makers² and their union are working feverishly⁹ to sell a skeptical¹⁰ Congress on the idea of a 34-billion-dollar aid package, there're signs of pushback on Capitol Hill. Senate Majority Leader Harry¹¹ Reid said today it stands now what Democratic plan to tap the administration 700-billion-dollar financial bailout plan to fund the rescue effort lacks the votes to pass. However, General Motors President of North America Troy Clarke says in contrast to their last visit to Washington, this time the auto executives have concrete plans for the federal money. "We spent a lot of time and energy, you know, the last two weeks since we were in Washington last, you know, put these plans together, it's a, you know, we are hoping to get favorable reaction, if we don't, we're, we're kind of back to the drawing board. " All three of the troubled domestic automakers say an auto company bankruptcy¹² would have profound effects on the economy. Hearings are set to begin tomorrow with possible House and Senate votes scheduled for next week.

Congressional appointed panel says US is not doing enough to combat the threat of biological or nuclear weapons of mass destruction and it predicts there could be an attack somewhere in the world in the next five years. Vice¹³ President-elect Joe Biden was briefed on those findings today. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

Members of the bipartisan commission say their aim is to raise alarms that the US along with the rest of the world is not adequately prepared to deal with the threat of terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Biden, who is briefed by the commission, says its conclusions are clear. "No, we are not doing all we can or should, and we are not doing all we can to prevent the world's most lethal¹⁴ weapons from winding¹⁵ up in the hands of a terrorist.” Among the panel's recommendations that the Obama administration names someone in the White House to coordinate¹⁶ governing policy to combat the use and spread of WMDs. Biden said he’ll be talking to the president-elect about the steps the administration should be taking to make the country more secure. Brian Naylor, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 172 points. This is NPR.

US Steel Corporation announced today it's temporarily suspending operations at one of its plants in Illinois as well as operations at two other facilities, affecting an estimated 3, 500 employees. The company says it will temporarily shift much of the production from those facilities to other plants. Company called the decision that temporarily consolidated¹⁷ operations a necessary response to difficult market conditions. Jet engine maker³ Pratt & Whitney also announced layoffs¹⁸ today. The company says it's cutting 350 jobs.

A judge has announced to sentence the so-called millennium¹⁹ bomber²⁰ to 22 years in prison again. NPR's Martin Kaste has more from Seattle.

Would-be bomber Ahmed Ressam was already sentenced to 22 years back in 2005, but federal prosecutors²¹ wanted to lengthen²² that to life in prison. They say the Algerian should get a longer sentence because he stopped cooperating with the prosecution²³ of other alleged²⁴ terrorists. A federal appeals court directed Seattle Federal Judge John Coughenour to re-sentence Ressam. But on Tuesday, Coughenour stuck with the 22 years, which means Ressam could be out on parole in a decade. Ressam was caught at a Washington State border checkpoint in 1999, driving a car with a trunk full of the makings for a large bomb. Investigators²⁵ say the target was the LA airport. Martin Kaste, NPR News, Seattle.

The Jonas Brothers are joining two UK singers, an emerging R&B star and a country act as the Grammys best new artist nominees²⁶. In the case of the Jonas Brothers, they've already released 2 CDs, but their latest "A Little Bit Longer" was their biggest yet. The teen idols²⁷ are competing against British female singers Duffy and Adele along with country group Lady Antebellum and singer Jazmine Sullivan.