NPR News 2010-01-26 加文本

NPR News 2010-01-26

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.

President Obama is proposing a series of measures to help ease the economic pressure on the nation's middle class. Mr. Obama, with Vice President Biden at his side, announced the steps which, he says, are aimed at reversing what he called the overall erosion in middle class security.

Hopefully, some of these steps will re-establish some of the security that's slipped away in recent years. Because in the end, that's how Joe and I measure progress — not by how the markets are doing, but by how the American people are doing.

The president says the proposals will be in the budget he submits to Congress next month. They include initiatives to help families pay for child care, care for elderly parents, pay off student loans and save for retirement.

The United Nations says about 700,000 earthquake survivors in Haiti need shelter. NPR's John Burnett is in Petit Goave, a coastal village west of the capital Port-au-Prince. He says that need is getting increased attention from relief groups now that the immediate food crisis is easing.

Some interesting things have come to life, one is that the food crisis is not as near as intense as it was just a week ago. A lot of people have food now, partly because of the international community, and partly because Haiti is very resourceful in getting its own food in its market, of the most pressing concern now is shelter. The rainy season is about two months away, and everyone is racing the clock to try to get to shelter up for at least tens of thousands of quake victims who have no place to go. NPR's John Burnett, in Petit Goave, Haiti.

Searchers in Lebanon are being hampered by bad weather as they look for any survivors from the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner. That plane caught fire and plunged into the Mediterranean shortly after take off from Beirut. There were 90 people aboard. Don Duncan reports at least 34 bodies have been recovered.

So far, no survivors have been found and the chances of finding the bodies of more victims today have faded with the daylight. Scenes of anguish developed all day at Beirut's International Airport and at hospitals around the city where remains were taken. Officials released names of Lebanese passengers who were on board including two children who are thought to have perished. Other passengers on board were Ethiopian, British, Canadian, French, Iraqi, Russian and Syrian. Ethiopian Airlines said that it had sent a team to Beirut to investigate the crash. Meanwhile, as part of a separate Lebanese investigation, recovered parts of the plane are being collected for testing. For NPR News, I'm Don Duncan in Beirut.

The anticipated expiration of a tax credit for first-time home buyers is being blamed for a sharp drop in sales of previously owned homes last month. The National Association of Realtors says sales plunged nearly 17 percent. The tax credit that was set to expire at the end of November has been extended. The median price of homes sold in December was up 1.5 percent from the same period the previous year. And that price report helped boost stocks today, the Dow up 72 points.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Better late than never for Burger King which is now selling charbroiled fast food at its first restaurant in Moscow. NPR's David Greene reports. It opened almost exactly 20 years after rival McDonald's set up a shop in what was then the Soviet Union.

McDonald's made huge news in January, 1990 when the company brought its Golden Arches to Pushkin Square just up the street from the Kremlin. On opening day, 30,000 people rushed to taste American fast food. Since then, scores of McDonald's have opened in Russia, millions of Big Macs have been served that Pushkin Square McDonald's became the busiest McDonald's in the world. And so there's always been this question —"Burger King, where are you?" Well, the time's finally come. The first Burger King opened in a mall in Moscow a few days ago. There was the Burger King(refer to the mascot not the restaurant), the bearded mascot posing for the cameras with two Russian models. More Russian Burger Kings are on the way. This news, well, may be not quite as big as when McDonald's braved the Cold War. Nevertheless, let the Burger wars here begin. David Greene, NPR News, Moscow.

People are still smiling in New Orleans today after a night of celebration following the New Orleans Saints' overtime victory in the NFC Championship Game. The Saints downed the Minnesota Vikings to earn their first-ever trip to the Super Bowl. New Orleans' Mayor Ray Nagin says the win was especially meaningful because it happened in the Superdome.

For us, this is really special, because four years ago when Hurricane Katrina hit that facility, you know, there was rain coming in and then last night we just celebrated like you wouldn't believe.

Nagin was on CBS's "The Early Show". The New Orleans Saints will play the Indianapolis Colts in two weeks in the Super Bowl in Miami.

I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.