NPR 2009-02-15

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President Obama will sign the economic stimulus¹ bill on Tuesday at a ceremony in Denver. Treasury² Secretary Timothy Geithner pointed³ to the legislation today in urging fellow finance ministers from the world's industrial powers to take steps to bolster⁴ their economies until a recovery takes hold. Steve Beckner of Market News International reports from Rome.

 In the past, other nations have not moved as aggressively as the United States has to address the crisis. And there have been calls by U. S. officials for them to do more. But Geithner said he detected a much greater sense of urgency and commitment around the G7 table. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet who has resisted cutting interest rates to zero like he said, said he is ready to use more unconventional methods to spur recovery. G7 policymakers pledged to use the full range of policy tools to support growth and employment, and vowed⁵ to take any further action necessary to restore global financial confidence. For NPR News, I'm Steve Beckner in Rome.

 Californian lawmakers will vote tonight on several bills to boost taxes and cut billions of dollars in spending on education and other programs to help close the state's 42-billion-dollar budget deficit⁶. Anticipating passage of the legislation, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger held off sending out layoff⁷ warning notices to thousands of state workers.

 Democratic Senator Roland Burris of Illinois has admitted that former Governor Rod Blagojevich's brother asked him for a campaign contribution before Blagojevich appointed Burris to the Senate seat vacated by President Obama. NPR's Allison Keyes reports.

Then Governor Blagojevich appointed Burris to the Senate after Blagojevich was arrested in an alleged⁸ "pay for place" scheme involving the job. Burris was seated only after testifying before Illinois House Committee considering Blagojevich's indictment⁹ and telling lawmakers he had only spoken to the governor's former chief of staff. In a new affidavit¹⁰, Burris admits that Blagojevich's brother asked for campaign contributions before Burris's appointment. It's the third version of events Burris has given about his discussions about the Senate seat. In a statement, the senator says he voluntarily submitted the affidavit and that there were several facts he wasn't given the opportunity to make during his testimony¹¹. Burris also says he didn't donate or raise any money. Allison Keyes, NPR News, Washington.

Workers are retrieving¹² remains¹³ from the wreckage¹⁴ of a commuter¹⁵ plane that crashed near Buffalo¹⁶ killing¹⁷ 50 people. National Transportation Safety Board investigator¹⁸ Steve Chealander says the plane was pointed away from the runway where it had been cleared to land. And the aircraft apparently¹⁹ did not plunge²⁰ nose first toward the ground. "I keep in mind that it's a tough scene because you've got a house and an airplane and people altogether in this one, this one wreckage. So it's a very painstaking²¹ process, and they're working sometimes with just small, little instruments just to knock pieces of dirt off and get pieces of airplane, and so forth²², but the priority are the people. "

This is NPR News from Washington.

With the government deadline looming²³, concession²⁴ talks between General Motors and the United Autoworkers Union have broken down over differences regarding payments to a retiree health care fund administered by the union. GM must submit by Tuesday a plan for becoming financially viable²⁵, including concessions²⁶ from unions and bondholders. Unless the company meets that deadline, it would not qualify for additional billions of dollars in government loans.

In Lebanon, tens of thousands of people packed a square in Beirut today to remember former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others who were killed in a bombing four years ago. Dale Gavlak has more.

Final preparations are underway for an international tribunal dealing²⁷ with Hariri's assassination²⁸. The massive bombing was widely blamed on Syria which denied any involvement. The attack on anti-Syria politicians was one of the worst acts of political violence throughout Lebanon since the 1975-1990 Civil War and led to the withdrawal²⁹ of Syrian troops from Lebanon after 29-year presence.

The UN tribunal to try Hariri's alleged killers³⁰ is due to open on March 1 outside The Hague in the Netherlands. It will also try those presumed responsible for a series of attacks on other Lebanese political and media figures. President Obama recently vowed to support UN efforts to bring Hariri's killers to justice. For NPR News, I'm Dale Gavlak in Amman, Jordan.

On this Valentine's Day, four couples were married as a Kiwanis club in Fargo, North Dakota tried and failed to break its own world record for most pancakes served in an eight hour period. In  Mexico City, more than 35, 000 people were expected to take part in an effort to break the record for most people kissing at one time.