NPR News 2009-05-23 加文本
NPR News 2009-05-23
From NPR News in Washington, I'm Barbara Klein.
Forty-four states and the District of Columbia lost jobs in April according to the Labor Department. NPR's Yuki Noguchi has details.
The report shows that overall the nation's unemployment picture continues to worsen, particularly in the larger states and the states that rely heavily on the auto industry. California lost the most number of jobs, nearly 64,000. Last month, Texas, Michigan and Ohio combined lost more than 100, 000 jobs. The highest jobless rate is in Michigan, the hub of the US auto industry where joblessness hit 12.9% in April. Michigan is followed by Oregon, South Carolina, Rhode Island and California where unemployment is now 11%. That compares to a national unemployment rate that reached 8.9% in April. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.
President Obama today signed into law new rules designed to protect credit card users. They become effective in February. Among other things, the new law bars credit card companies from raising interest rates on previous purchases as long as the consumer’s payment is current and it requires companies to get 45 days notice before raising rates on future purchases. Credit card companies have warned they might make credit cards more expensive and harder to get.
President Obama made several promises today to graduates of the US Naval Academy. He pledged to send them into harm's way only when absolutely necessary and with well-defined goals and the support needed to accomplish them. NPR's Don Gonyea has more.
This was Mr. Obama's first commencement address as president to one of the nation's service academies. He honored the more than 1, 000 midshipmen who became commissioned officers at the ceremony. He commended their decision to serve their country. "These Americans have embraced the virtues that we need most right now: self-discipline over self-interest; work over comfort; and character over celebrity." The president spoke even as the controversy over his decision to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center next year has prompted heated debate in Washington. He did not directly address that in Annapolis, but he did restate his belief that the US does not have to choose between its security and its ideals. Don Gonyea, NPR News, Annapolis.
Vice President Joe Biden is in Beirut for talks with Lebanon's President in advance of a crucial election there June 7th. Biden is the highest level US official to visit Lebanon in more than 25 years. The White House is concerned Iranian-backed Hezbollah and its allies could win a majority and shift power away from factions that support the US.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 14 points to close at 8, 277. The NASDAQ was down three, closing at 1,692. The S&P fell one point, closed at 887.
This is NPR News.
A former US army private will spend the rest of his life in prison for crimes committed during the Iraq war. From member station WKYU in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Lisa Autry has details.
Steven Green convicted of raping and killing an Iraq teen and murdering her family has been spared the death penalty. Federal jurors in Paducah, Kentucky considered several mitigating factors such as combat stress and a bad home life. Still prosecutors pointed to evidence of premeditation. Professor Robert Holland is a former military lawyer and trial judge. "While these soldiers were in a dangerous combat environment, they nonetheless, were off duty. They talked for substantial period of time. Let's go out and take our own action against Iraqis who happened to have been near their post." The 24-year-old Green will serve life behind bars with no chance of parole. For NPR News, I'm Lisa Autry in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
An Iranian-American journalist who was jailed in Iran since late January is back in the United States. Roxana Saberi who freelanced for several news organizations including NPR was convicted of espionage and sentenced to eight years in prison in April. But earlier this month, an appeals court reduced and suspended her sentence. Saberi arrived today in Washington.
A 66-year-old woman who was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer has died, the first person to die under Washington State's Death with Dignity law. With a physician by her side, Linda Fleming administered herself the drugs that ended her life. She had released a statement, saying the pain had become unbearable.
I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.
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