NPR 2009-03-14

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From NPR News in Washington, I'm Barbara Klein.

President Obama and his top economic advisors² are trying to reassure³ Americans about the future as the nation waits for signs that economic stimulus⁴ measures are working. The president today said his administration is taking the right steps to put the economy back on track. He also said the days of economic growth based on an overheated housing market and huge credit debt are over. Meanwhile, White House economic advisor¹ Larry Summers says more confidence and optimism are needed to boost the nation's economy. NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

The president's top economic advisor says while Americans were too optimistic during the real estate bubble, they're too fearful now. Larry Summers said it's too soon to judge the impact of the administration's economic moves but some of the signs are modestly encouraging. Summers also defended Treasury⁵ Secretary Timothy Geithner against critics who say Geithner's taking too long to roll out a bank stabilization⁶ plan. Summers says it makes sense to wait till a financial review is completed. "My suggestion is that we let the stress testing continue, we allow the process to be carried out, and I think the wisdom of Secretary Geithner's approach will be much clearer." Summers said the stock market lows before this week's rally may be seen by some as the sale of the century. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

US exports exceeded imports in January for the sixth month in a row. The Commerce Department reports the trade deficit⁷ shrank by 10%. But analysts⁸ don't take that as a positive economic sign. They say as Americans spend less, they are just buying fewer products made overseas.

The Obama Justice Department is abandoning the legal rationale used by the Bush administration for detaining prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. NPR's Nina Totenberg has details.

In court papers filed today, the Obama administration ditched the Bush administration's claim that it could detain what it called enemy combatants at Guantanamo based on the president's say-so. With most of the detainees now challenging their imprisonment⁹ in court, the new administration is justifying¹⁰ their detention¹¹ for now instead on international law and the so-called Authorization¹² of Military Force passed by Congress in the immediate¹³ aftermath of 9/11. The Obama administration said it is unprepared at this time, however, to define precisely¹⁴ the contours of whom may be detained under what circumstances and for how long. While an interagency task force ponders these definitions though, federal judges in Washington DC are under orders from the US Supreme¹⁵ Court to complete a review of most detentions¹⁶ and to order release where appropriate. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street today, the Dow closed up 53 points at 7, 223. The NASDAQ gained 5 points to close at 1,431. The S&P was up 5.

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Oil company Sonoco says it's cutting 750 jobs. That's 20% of its salaried workforce¹⁷. The company says it's hoping to slash¹⁸ costs by more than 300 million dollars this year in the face of weak demand for gasoline and diesel¹⁹ fuel. Most of the cuts will be from the company's Philadelphia headquarters and refineries²⁰ in the region.

General Motors is recalling over 300,000 vehicles. The company says they may have faulty transmission clips. Sarah Cwiek has more from member station WDET in Detroit.

The recall involves the 2009 models of several popular GM brands, including the Buick Enclave, Chevy Malibu and Saturn²¹ Outlook. GM says the problem is a partially²² engaged transmission cable clip. That could lead to a discrepancy²³ between the gear position on the transmission and what the driver sees on the gear shift. GM spokesman Dan Flores says the good news is that only about 75,000 of the recalled vehicles are actually in customer hands. "Out of that 309,000, just over 75, 000 are actually delivered in customer's hands, so the majority of these vehicles involved in the recall are on dealer²⁴ lots or in process to dealers²⁵. " Flores says that GM hasn't heard of any incidents stemming from the problem but it is proceeding²⁶ with a large scale recall as a precaution. For NPR News, I'm Sarah Cwiek in Detroit.

Lawyers for Minnesota's two vying²⁷ Senate candidates delivered closing arguments today in a seven-week trial to determine which ballots²⁸ to count in the state's disputed election. Democrat²⁹ Al Franken has a 225-vote lead but Republican Norm Coleman wants the court to include absentee ballots that had been rejected.