NPR 2010-04-29

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Republican senators again turned back a Democratic financial overhaul¹ bill today. The legislation creates new regulations for Wall Street investment firms and for complex products called derivatives². GOP senators have successfully blocked debate on the legislation three times this week. Democratic Senator Chris Dodd was frustrated³.

"Dislike the bill, vote against it at the end if you want, offer 20 amendments⁴ if you want, but let us get to the bill."

Democratic leaders are apparently⁵ prepared to keep the Senate in session all night to work on the legislation. Now, Republican leaders suggest they may be willing to end the filibuster⁶. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has released a statement, saying he's deeply troubled by several provisions in the legislation, but he's pleased to see bipartisan efforts to address the differences.

Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's has cut its ratings of Spain's national debt. It's now down a notch⁷ to AA. S&P analysts⁸ say Spain is likely going to see very sluggish⁹ economic growth over the next several years. The downgrade in Spain's debt comes just a day after Greece's debt rating was slashed¹⁰ to junk status. Teri Schultz reports from Brussels, Germany is signaling it will support the European bailout plan for Greece.

The European economy's top players appealed to German lawmakers today to authorize¹¹ their governments' share of the 40-billion-dollar EU loan to Greece. After the personal intervention¹² by the heads of European Central Bank and the International Monetary¹³ Fund, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble announced that parliamentary approval could come as soon as next Friday. That's much more optimistic than his earlier statements suggesting the plan could be rejected entirely¹⁴. Meanwhile, EU President Herman Van Rompuy is also trying to reassure¹⁵ markets that neither Greece nor any other eurozone member will be allowed to default on its loan payments.

"There is no question about restructuring of the debt."

The borrowing costs for Greece took a dip on the news after rising steadily¹⁶ for weeks. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.

The US Supreme¹⁷ Court has revived a land transfer letting a large cross remain on public property. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports the decision was 5 to 4.

In 1934, the Veterans of Foreign Wars erected¹⁸ a large cross on an outcropping of rock in the Mojave Desert, land owned by the government. The purpose was to honor American soldiers who died in World War I. Decades later, a retired¹⁹ park service ranger²⁰ who often visited the area challenged the cross as an unconstitutional government endorsement²¹ of religion. The lower courts agreed. That prompted Congress to give the land on which the cross stood to the VFW in a land transfer, but the lower courts ruled that action was in evasion²² of its order to dismantle²³ the cross. Now, the Supreme Court has disagreed with the lower courts and is sending the case back to the lower courts. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street just before the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 50 points at 11,042. The NASDAQ was down a fraction of a point; it was trading at 2,471.

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The prime ministers of India and Pakistan will meet tomorrow. It's an effort to improve relations damaged following the terror attacks in Mumbai, India during late 2008. NPR's Julie McCarthy reports from Islamabad.

The prime ministers of the two nuclear-armed rivals will hold talks on the sidelines of a regional meeting of eight South Asian nations that is underway in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. Delhi has insisted it would only revive a full dialog when Islamabad moved more aggressively against the Pakistani militants²⁴ implicated²⁵ in the Mumbai attacks. India is also investigating what it calls a serious breach²⁶ of security after arresting one of its diplomats²⁷ accused of spying for Pakistan while posted at the Indian Embassy in Islamabad. Analysts say there will be no breakthrough at Thursday's meeting of the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers, but rather they hope to keep alive the idea of engagement. The US has urged the two sides to reduce tension so that Pakistan can concentrate on the threat that Taliban poses to its western border with Afghanistan. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

The US government has given the go-ahead to a wind farm plant that will be off the coast in Massachusetts. The Cape²⁸ Wind project will eventually have 130 turbines. Wind Project leaders say electricity can start flowing by 2012. Opponents fear the turbines will kill wildlife and harm the coast in Massachusetts.

The Coast Guard is trying to stop an oil slick from flowing into sensitive Louisiana marshlands. Emergency response workers are trying to use a controlled fire to stop some of the oil from fouling²⁹ the coast. The oil is from a pipeline³⁰ that was attached to a drilling platform that exploded and sank last week. Eleven workers are missing and feared dead.