NPR 2009-12-03

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was among those on Capitol Hill today, appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee to answer lawmakers' questions about the administration's newly unveiled Afghanistan war plan. On the heels of President Obama's announcement, an additional 30,000 U.S. troops are being deployed² to the region. Clinton defended the administration's latest blueprint³ for the now more than 8-year-old war.

"The president's plan represents the best way we know to protect our nation today and in the future. The task we face is as complex as any national security challenge in our lifetimes. "

Defense⁴ Secretary Robert Gates also testified, saying the first new U. S. forces for the region will begin arriving in the next two to three weeks, and he defended the announced plans to begin withdrawing U. S. forces starting in 2011. Some Republicans on the committee voiced concerns about the administration's announced withdrawal⁵ date. John McCain said Taliban militants⁶ might simply wait out the U. S. troop surge.

New York lawmakers have rejected a bill to legalize gay marriage, it was the first time the issue has been debated and voted on in the state's Senate. NPR's Robert Smith reports.

Gay marriage had already cleared one half of the New York State legislature, the State Assembly. It had the support of Governor David Patterson, and a majority of New Yorkers in a recent poll approved of legalization. But gay marriage in New York was held up and eventually defeated by a sharply divided state Senate. Although Democrats⁷ are in the majority there, they lost the support of some of their conservative members. All of the Republican state Senators voted against the bill. Gay marriage is legal in some of the states that border New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. And activists⁸ have been pushing New Jersey⁹ to vote on the issue before the end of the year. But New York State Senate leaders wouldn't even allow debate on gay marriage until now. Robert Smith, NPR News, New York.

A major property rights case was argued before the Supreme¹⁰ Court today. It's a case from Florida that pits the interest of homeowners against state efforts to prevent beach erosion. From Miami, NPR's Greg Allen reports.

The case was brought by six homeowners with beachfront property in Destin on the Florida panhandle. In 2004, after a spate¹¹ of hurricanes, state and local officials began a beach restoration project in the area. Government officials say beach restoration efforts though costly¹², are necessary to preserve recreation and tourism, at the same time provides storm protection for nearby homes. To a group of homeowners in Destin, it was a government land grab. Traditionally, property rights of homeowners extend to the high tide mark. Florida's courts, however, ruled that new land created by the beach replacement¹³ belonged not to the homeowners but the state. The homeowners say that ruling is an unconstitutional taking of private property. Only eight justices heard the arguments today, not present was John Paul Stevens who owns a beachfront condo in Fort Lauderdale. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18 points, ending the session at 10, 453. The NASDAQ gained nine points to close at 2, 185. The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose a fraction today.

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Golfer Tiger Woods in a statement on his website today acknowledged what he termed “transgressions”, saying he had let his family down, though he offered no further details. The statement follows a latest revelation of alleged¹⁴ infidelity by the pro-golfer, this time, following reports and the release of a telephone voice mail to a 24-year-old Los Angeles area cocktail¹⁵ waitress who claimed she had a 31-month-long affair with Woods. Woods was in an early morning car accident last week outside his Florida mansion¹⁶ in which he ran into a fire hydrant and a tree. According to police, Woods' wife used a golf club to free him from the vehicle by smashing out windows.

The International Criminal Court has reversed its decision to grant bail¹⁷ for former Congolese vice¹ president accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. NPR's Gwen Thompkins reports.

Jean-Pierre Bemba led one of the militias¹⁸ involved in a long and ruinous civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but the charges he faces in The Hague are not related to his conduct in Congo. The International Criminal Court has charged him with war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities¹⁹ his soldiers committed against civilians²⁰ in the Central African Republic. Bemba's soldiers crossed into that country in 2002, 2003 to help put down a coup²¹ attempt against its president. Bemba says he was not in command of the group when the atrocities happened. But he has not yet entered a plea in the case. Judges at the International Criminal Court had denied Bemba a bail, saying he is a flight risk. Gwen Thompkins, NPR News, Nairobi.

Five British sailors detained by Iran before being released have now arrived in Dubai. The British government today said it's pleased by the release and praised Tehran for its handling of the incident. The sailors were aboard a racing²² yacht seized by Iran after the vessel²³ strayed into Iranian waters last week.

I'm Jack²⁴ Speer, NPR News in Washington.