NPR 2009-10-12

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The top UN official in Afghanistan Kai Eide is acknowledging that there was, what he called, widespread fraud in the country's recent presidential election. But Eide would not be more specific about how much fraud occurred. "Any specific figure at this time will be pure speculation¹." A UN-backed panel is expected to decide this week whether to nullify enough votes to require a run-off between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his top challenger.

Car bomb attacks across parts of Iraq today killed at least 16 people in Anbar province. Dozens of others were wounded. NPR's Quil Lawrence has details from Baghdad.

First, a car bomb exploded inside the parking lot of Ramadi's police station. Then, a suicide bomber², possibly riding a motorcycle, rammed³ into the growing crowd of police and rescue workers. The third blast occurred shortly afterward⁴ outside Ramadi's main hospital, killing⁵ guards who prevented the suicide car bomb from breaching⁶ the gate. Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, was a center of militant⁷ attacks against Americans and the Iraqi government. It was later the birthplace of the awakening⁸ when Sunni Arab tribes turned against Al-Qaeda. The US military paid the tribal⁹ fighters, but that funding is now drying up as US troops draw down and some Anbar residents fear that violence may return, especially in advance of Iraq's national elections in January. Quil Lawrence, NPR News, Baghdad.

Gay men and women of all ages staged to march through the nation's capital today to push for equal rights. NPR's Laura Sullivan was there.

As thousands of people waited for the march to begin, 71-year-old Russell Reish and his partner, 82-year-old Albert Masse, found the only seat in a sea of chanting young faces. "Everybody was so nice to us to let the old folks have the bench.” Reish says he feels invigorated after activism brought on by AIDS in the 80s and 90s. Things are faltered¹⁰ in recent years. "Our generations have yet kind of slowed down. But now I think the young people are energized¹¹ and I think they are going to take the ball and run.” Reish and Masse who have been together for 40 years, say they are hoping younger generations will get the government to finally recognize same sex relationships, even if they don't live to see it. Laura Sullivan, NPR News, Washington.

The Obama administration's special Middle East envoy¹² George Mitchell met again today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem before concluding his latest trip to that region as the administration tries to restart peace talks there. "We need to re-launch negotiations¹³ that can succeed as soon as possible. And that's been the focus of my trip and of my discussions." Mitchell was speaking to reporters in Jerusalem after his meeting with Netanyahu, but he gave no indication that peace talks will resume any time soon.

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A top official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk of not getting vaccinated¹⁴ against the H1N1 swine flu is greater than any potential risk linked to the vaccine¹⁵ itself. Dr. Anne Schuchat says a good safety record for past flu vaccines¹⁶ bodes¹⁷ well for the new swine flu vaccine. She says there is no problem associated with getting shots for both the swine flu and seasonal¹⁸ flu on the same day. The CDC says 37 states now have widespread outbreaks of the swine flu. Nineteen children in the US have died of the disease in the past week.

Winter has come early to the Canadian prairies this year. And as Dan Karpenchuk reports, the weather is already causing problems there.

From a breezy fall directly to winter is a story for much of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Most regions have had snow and temperatures averaging about ten degrees below normal. A storm in Manitoba dumped more than four inches of snow and poor visibility and blowing snow on Friday night resulted in the United Airlines flight losing its way after landing and taxing off the tarmac and onto the grass where it remains¹⁹ stuck for about 18 hours. The crews said they could not see all of the guiding lights on the runway because of the poor visibility. The airport used the city bus to move the estimated 80 passengers to the terminal because it was too cold for people to walk. There've also been numerous rollovers and accidents around Winnipeg because of the icy roads. Forecasters are predicting much of the same weather across the prairies for the next couple of days. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

In the major league baseball playoffs, the Los Angeles Angels came from behind in the ninth inning to defeat the Boston Red Sox 7-6 today. With that victory, the Angels sweep their series with Boston and advance to the American league championship series. They will play either the New York Yankees or the Minnesota Twins.