NPR美国国家公共电台 NPR 2013-08-13

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The indictment² against him was a racketeering indictment. There've been a lot of confusion because within that racketeering indictment, there are 19 murders that Bulger was accused of committing. If found guilty eventually, all of the counts were in the racketeering indictment and that included money laundering³, extortion, illegal weapon purchased and transferred. What was interesting though is that he was not choosing to have committed a number of the murders the government had been accusing him of. WBUR's Asma Khalid.

A Bulger's attorney says his client will appeal. 

Under a sweeping⁴ shift in Department of Justice policy low level non-violent drug offenders⁵ with ties to cartels or gangs, will no longer be prosecuted⁶ for offenses⁷ that carry severe mandatory⁸ minimum sentences. Attorney General Eric Holder⁹ told American Bar Association California today, some current sentences are draconian¹⁰. He cited soaring spending on prisons and a disproportionate number of minorities incarcerated¹¹.

It's time to ask tough questions about how we can strengthen our communities, how we can support young people, how we can address the fact that young black and Latino men are disproportionately likely to become involved in our criminal justice system, as victims as well as perpetrators. 

Holder also wants to give federal judges flexibility¹² to decide whether to impose mandatory minimum sentences for some drug offenses that however, requires changes in the law. 

While concern over the racial profiling of Latino and black men in New York, has prompted a judge there to rule the policies where police's use of stop-and-frisk a  violation to people's rights. The decision, the mayor says, he will appeal. Here is NPR's Joel Rose.

Federal Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the New York Police Department deliberately¹³ violated the civil rights of tens of thousands of black and Latino New Yorkers. Scheindlin says her ruling is not intended to put an end to the practice of warrant searches better known as stop-and-frisk only to reform it by preventing stops based on race. The ruling is a rebuke¹⁴ to city officials who have defended stop-and-frisk as an important crime fighting tool. At a trial earlier this year, city lawyers argued that the NYPD make stops based on reasonable suspicion. But judge Scheindlin disagreed, noting that the vast majority of those stopped have not committed a crime. Her ruling appoints an independent monitor to implement¹⁵ a set of wide ranging reforms to police training and supervision¹⁶. Joel Rose, NPR News, New York. 

Egyptian protestors digging in at the site of Cairo's sit-ins for ousted¹⁷ President Mohamed Morsi's reinstatement. This despite the military's threat to move in and forcefully disband the crowd of thousands. 

Before the close, Dow was down six at 15,420.

You are listening to NPR News.

Secretary of State John Kerry is on a fence-mending trip to Latin America, where he is expected to encounter criticism over the NSA's reported surveillance activities in the region. The controversy¹⁸ could overshadow Kerry's agenda on energy, trade and anti-drug initiatives. Today he met with Colombian officials about landmark¹⁹ peace talks with the Latin American countries largest rebel group. 

Multiple deadly attacks reported in and around the Iraqi capital today, the latest suicide bomber²⁰ attacked a cafe in Balad north of Baghdad, killing²¹ at least eight people and wounding 25. Soldiers and police were also among the dead in two other attacks in the capital and south of that city.

The annual Perseid meteor shower is about to reach its peak. NPR's Jim Hawk²² says that early tomorrow morning is when you may be able to see the most and perhaps even hear the most. 

Left over bits of the comet named Swift-Tuttle have been blazing through the atmosphere for the past week, but the big swarm²³ is due early Tuesday morning and if the weather fails to cooperate you can still hear the Perseids at spaceweatherradio.com. By tapping in the signals from airforce space surveillance radar²⁴, a special program turns a streaking²⁵ meteor into an audible sound, like this example from the Geminids meteor shower. Observers in dark sky areas have been reporting as many as 15 Perseids per hour, that rate could double by early Tuesday morning when the shower peaks. Jim Hawk, NPR News.

While before the closing bell, U.S. stocks were mixed, with the Dow off six points; NASDAQ up 10 at 3,670, S&P 500 down slightly at 1,689.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

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