NPR 2009-5-22

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From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack¹ Speer.

Reactions were along party lines on Capitol Hill to the speech President Obama delivered today at the National Archives. The President broadly addressed national security and safeguarding the constitution and more specifically his aim to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. More from NPR's David Welna.

It was thumbs-down for the President's speech from his recent GOP opponent Senator John McCain. "It was very good rhetoric² as always, no substance, no policy." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell also panned the speech. "A big flowery campaign speech is fine, but what the Congress voted for yesterday is not for a speech, but for a plan." But the No. 2 Senate Democrat³ Dick Durbin said Democrats⁴ who joined Republicans in scuttling⁵ money for closing Guantanamo did get a plan from the President. "I think there's concern about closing Guantanamo when members couldn't see the way out what was next? And the President had that responsibility and he met it today, with the speech. I think it'll be a different discussion and different debate from this point forward. " Senate Majority Leader Harry⁶ Reid, however, said the speech was no game-changer. David Welna, NPR News, the Capitol.

Four men accused of planting what they thought were explosives near two Bronx synagogues reportedly expressed disappointment that the World Trade Center was no longer around to attack. Prosecutors⁷ say the men also allegedly planned to shoot down a military plane in Newburgh, New York. An assistant U. S. attorney says the four had expressed the desire to "bring death to Jews". The suspects appeared today at a New York court following their arrest yesterday. Their defense⁸ lawyer did not seek bail⁹ for the men.

United Auto¹⁰ Workers has tentatively agreed to a deal with General Motors to cut the automaker's labor¹¹ and retiree health care costs. GM still must cut a deal with bondholders to avoid bankruptcy¹². Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton has more.

Details haven't been released, but the deal means the union agreed to accept a great deal of stock instead of cash to pay for a union-run retiree health care trust. Gary Chaison is a labor expert at Clark University. He says the agreement is risky¹³ for the UAW but so is heading into bankruptcy court without a deal. That could allow a judge to throw out the union's entire contract. "I think that the agreement will be ratified¹⁴ by the membership, because it's too scary not to ratify¹⁵. " The US Treasury¹⁶ says GM must also get 90 percent of its bondholders to accept stock in exchange for their bonds. That requirement is widely expected to force GM into bankruptcy by June 1st. For NPR News, I'm Tracy Samilton in Ann Arbor¹⁷.

The number of people filing first-time jobless claims fell slightly last week. The government reports that new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a seasonally¹⁸ adjusted 631, 000, that's down 12, 000 from the previous week.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 129 points, closing at 8,292. That was a loss of 1. 5%. The NASDAQ lost 32 points today. The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 15 points.

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Three US soldiers were killed toady¹⁹ along with a dozen Iraqis at a crowded morning market. NPR's JJ Sutherland reports from Baghdad.

Bodies of US soldiers and Iraqi civilians²⁰ were strewn across the street amidst the shattered remains²¹ of the fruit and vegetable stands. One eyewitness²² says shops and carts were completely destroyed, leaving wreckage²³ everywhere. Iraqi police say 25 civilians were injured. The American military wouldn't say how many soldiers were, or how seriously. Three more bombs struck around Iraq: in a town south of Baghdad, near a police station in the north of the city, and a suicide bomber²⁴ struck among a crowd of US-backed Sunni militiamen in the city of Kirkuk. All told, nine people were killed and at least another two dozen wounded. It's been quiet for Iraq in recent days, but a massive bomb yesterday that killed 40 people and today's strikes left people in Baghdad shaken. JJ Sutherland, NPR News, Baghdad.

Government forecasters predicted there will be between nine and fourteen named tropical storms this year, four to seven of which they expect would be hurricanes. The National Hurricane Center issued its latest forecast today.

Even though he has admitted to being a Bears' fan, President Barack Obama played host to the Super Bowl-winning Pittsburgh Steelers at the White House today. The President says he rooted for the Steelers over the Arizona Cardinals²⁵ in the Super Bowl, Mr. Obama ticking off some famous names from the past who played for the team. "When I started playing and I started paying attention to football, it was guys like Terry Bradshaw and Franco Harris and the Steel Curtain." Steelers' president Dan Rooney was a major fundraiser for the Obama campaign. In March, he was appointed by the President to be US Ambassador to Ireland.

I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.