NPR 2010-02-26

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From NPR News in Washington, I’m Lakshmi Singh.

The president, the vice¹ president and Congress’s top lawmakers from both sides of the aisle² are sparring over health care overhaul³ in the glare of TV lights. The White House says it is really hoping for consensus⁴ in this summit. But as NPR’s Scott Horsley reports, there’s been little agreement so far.

Republicans repeated their call for the White House to scrap⁵ health care legislation that narrowly passed the House and Senate in favor of starting over with a clean sheet of paper. Mr. Obama defended the product of a year-long legislative⁶ process. He urged Republicans to put aside their talking points and focus instead on areas of common ground. “We might surprise ourselves and find out that we agree more than we disagree. And that would then help to dictate⁷ how we move forward. It may turn out, on the other hand, there’s just too big of a gulf⁸, and then we’ll have to figure out how we proceed from there.” Democrats⁹ have not come out and said they’ll use a budget maneuver¹⁰ to bypass a threatened Republican filibuster¹¹, but the president’s plan was crafted in a way to preserver that possibility. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

The Federal Reserve is looking into Goldman Sachs and other US banks’ use of investment tools to make bets that Greece will default on its debt. Fed chief Ben Bernanke told the Senate Banking¹² Committee today that the Central Bank is concerned that credit default swaps¹³ may have made Greece’s debt crisis worse. Bernanke says the Security and Exchange Commission will probably review the matter as well. Greece’s growing debt and its potential effect on other European nations are shaking world markets in recent weeks.

Economists¹⁵ in the US haven’t seen this big surge in six months. Orders for durable¹⁶ goods jumped 3% in January, driven up by higher demand for commercial aircraft, as Danielle Karson reports.

The increase was due mostly to a huge spike¹⁷, 126% in aircraft orders, specifically for Boeing’s new 787 Dreamland aircraft. Excluding transportation, orders fell 0.6%. Durable goods orders are an important indicator¹⁸ of manufacturing activity. But Chris Low, chief economist¹⁴ with FTN financial services, says they’re also notoriously volatile¹⁹. “Because of that, I wouldn’t worry too much about a decline in one month, especially after a couple of months of growth. But again, it’s one more indication that in January, anyway, the economy downshifted a bit from the fourth quarter.” There was also a setback²⁰ in the labor²¹ market. New claims for unemployment benefits rose to almost 500,000 last week. Low says that suggests businesses are still hesitant about hiring. For NPR News, I’m Danielle Karson.

Following news on the unemployment claims, we certainly have US stocks continuing its downward spiral. At last check, the Dow was down nearly 90 points at 10,285.

This is NPR.

Italy’s richest agricultural area, the Po River Valley, is threatened by thousands of tons of spill diesel²² fuel. NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli reports authorities suspect the oil spill was deliberate.

Fast currents have prevented efforts to contain the oil slick floating down river. It has reached the important food-producing province of Parma home to Italy’s famed parmesan cheese and prosciutto ham. The local civil protection agency says about 106,000 gallons of fuel poured into a tributary²³ of the Po River, Italy’s longest, from storage tanks at a disused refinery²⁴ northeast of Milan. The agencies said the fuel could have been released from tanks intentionally²⁵. Farm groups say the food chain is safe because agricultural production is low this time of year and recent heavy rains mean the Po will not be needed for irrigation. The Po River Valley produces 1/3 of Italy’s agricultural output and represents 40% of the country’s GDP. Sylvia Poggioli, NPR News, Rome.

The number of people missing from last weekend’s landslide²⁶ in Portugal may be higher than earlier thought. News reports are citing the tourism office on the Island of Madeira, saying that at least 29 people are still unaccounted for. The figure has fluctuated since Saturday’s storm sent sludge and boulders²⁷ crushing down onto coastal²⁸ homes. At least 42 people are confirmed dead.

A grand jury has indicted²⁹ two men in the alleged³⁰ plot to bomb the New York City subway system. Zarein Ahmedzay and Adis Medunjanin are accused of plotting to carry out the attack last September. They have pleaded not guilty.

I’m Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.