NPR 2009-12-26

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Federal authorities are now questioning a man, they say, apparently¹ tried to light some kind of incendiary device aboard a northwest flight landing in Detroit today. However there are conflicting reports about what kind of device was involved, with some reports saying it may have been fireworks. The incident is being treated by authorities as an attempted act of terrorism. The unidentified male passenger who also reportedly claimed to have al-Qaida links was apparently subdued² by other passengers aboard the plane. He was reportedly being treated for burns. The Airbus A-330 was carrying 278 people and was arriving Detroit from Amsterdam. President Obama was reportedly informed about the incident.

President has nominated 7 U.S. attorneys, including one man who made news as a prosecutor³ during the Bush administration. More from NPR’s Ari Shapiro.
In Buffalo⁴, New York, Bill Hochul successfully prosecuted⁵ the first home-grown terrorism case in the U.S., the so-called Lackawanna Six. He won the Attorney General’s Award for exceptional service and years later, Hochul applied⁶ for a promotion⁷ to a counter-terrorism job at Justice Department Headquarters in Washington. According to investigation⁸ by the inspector⁹ general, Hochul was the most qualified¹⁰ for the job and the supervisor¹¹ wanted to hire him. But the Justice Department’s White House Liaison¹² Monica Goodling said no because Hochul’s wife had worked in Democratic politics. Instead, the job went to a man with no terrorism experience but strong conservative bona fides. That story was part of a larger inspector general’s report on politicized hiring during the Bush administration. Now President Obama has nominated Hochul to be the US’s attorney for western New York. Ari Shapiro, NPR News Washington.

A strong weather system is continuing in the central US. The National Weather Service warns heavy snowfall is making travel difficult in the north-central states. Oklahoma has been particularly hard hit when 19 people have died in storm related accidents. NPR’s Joanne Silberner has more.

On the National Weather Service’s map, a cold patch of blue representing temperatures in the teens and 20s steps from Wyoming, south to Oklahoma, with blizzard¹³ warnings from most of the Dakotas and Nebraska. A bright red smile, starting along the north Carolina shore running down through Florida across the southern tip of Texas and swinging up to California coast, shows temperatures in the 70s or above. Interstates were closed in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Illinois and Iowa. Travel isn’t so bad a bit east of the coast, Washington, Chicago, at least not yet. As of this afternoon, there were only short delays and a handful of cancellations at Ohio International Airport. Joanne Silberner, NPR News.

Pope Benedict XVI delivered his annual Christmas greeting to the faithful from a balcony at Saint Peter’s Basilica today. Pope called for the world to abandon violence and vengeance¹⁴. The 82-year-old pontiff seemed no worse for where after a Christmas Eve assault that saw him knocked to the ground by a woman Vatican says has a history of mental problems apparently tried a similar attack on the pontiff last year.

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China’s most prominent dissident has been sent to jail for 11 years for his role in helping¹⁵ to organize a petition calling for sweeping¹⁶ political reforms and prior to that the pro-democracy protests centered in Tiananmen Square  that were crashed by armed troops. 54-year-old Liu Xiaobo stood quietly in the Beijing courtroom as the sentence was handed down. He was one of the most outspoken¹⁷ critics of China’s one-party rule. Standing¹⁸ outside the courtroom where the sentence was handed out, the U.S. diplomat¹⁹ said Washington is deeply concerned. The UN’s high commissioner²⁰ for human rights also condemned²¹ the sentence.

In her 57th Christmas message, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ described 2009 as a difficult year citing the economic downturn and the war in Afghanistan. Larry Miller²² has more from London.

In a Christmas Day broadcast, Queen Elizabeth focused on British casualties in Afghanistan. A hundred and six British troops have been killed there this year. “I’m sure that we’ve been all affected²³ by events in Afghanistan and saddened by the casualties, suffered by our forces serving there.” It’s been nearly 70 years since then Princess Elizabeth made her first broadcast as a14-year-old that was during World War Ⅱ. Her message was to British children evacuated²⁴ from the cities. “My sister, Margaret, Rose and I feel so much for you. As we know from experience what it means to be away from those we love most of all.” The British monarchy²⁵ remains²⁶ highly popular. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

US markets are close today for the Christmas holiday. Many of the European markets are also closed. Shares in Tokyo move lower today and investor²⁷ profit taking in a relative thin trading.

I’m Jack²⁸ Speer. NPR News in Washington.