NPR News 2010-03-09 加文本

NPR News 2010-03-09

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

The Justice Department has unsealed terrorism charges against the man who has been linked to a Somali terrorist group called Al-shabaab. Authorities say he had bomb-making instructions in his possession when he was arrested. NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston reports the man was transferred to US custody over the weekend.

Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed appeared at a Manhattan courtroom to face charges related to his ties to the Somali militia group. Al-Shabaab has been at the center of an investigation into the disappearance of some two dozen young Somali-Americans from the Minneapolis area over the past two years. The FBI believes the young men were lured to Somalia to fight for the group. There’ve already been eight indictments related to that case. The latest charges allege that Mohamed Ahmed traveled to Somalia to train with Al-shabaab. Prosecutors say he gave the group thousands of dollars and they taught him how to make bombs that could be used in terrorist attacks. Ahmed was arrested in Nigeria and was brought to New York Southern District to face the charges. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News, New York.

President Obama says he’s pushing Congress to complete work on healthcare overhaul legislation in part because insurance companies are showing no willingness to ease up on arbitrary rate hikes. “When is the right time for health insurance reform? Is it a year from now or two years from now or five years from now or ten years from now? I think it’s right now. And that’s why you are here today.” President speaking at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, the first of an expected string of such appearances as he tries to take the offensive in the healthcare debate.

A bill aimed at correcting past mistreatment of women in India has triggered an uproar in that country’s Parliament. Some socialist lawmakers even try to rip out microphones to halt the debate today. NPR’s Philip Reeves reports the proposal by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government would set aside one third of the seats in the country’s legislature for women.

Women account for less than ten percent of India's parliament and have long been badly underrepresented in government. Yet the country has produced some formidable female leaders, including Indira Gandhi, the prime minister assassinated in 1994. Her daughter-in-law Sonia leads India’s ruling Congress Party and is a driving force behind this bill. The bill's failed several times before. But this time, government officials appeared confident as they have opposition support. Yet proceedings were repeatedly disrupted by angry protests from several small regional parties. Some lawmakers tore up copies of the bill and demanded that some of the seats that would be reserved for women should be specifically for socially disadvantaged Muslim women who’re especially underrepresented. The vote has been postponed until tomorrow. Philip Reeves, NPR News, New Deli.

Stock prices are mixed and trading in a tight range today following announcement of a new round of mergers and acquisitions. The Dow is now down six points, but the NASDAQ is up seven.

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US Middle East Envoy George Mitchell says he’s pleased that Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to indirect Middle East peace talks. Mitchell will shuttle between the two sides in the negotiations which will last up to four months. Vice President Biden has arrived in Israel to help advance planning for those talks which may be hampered by a new dispute over Jewish settlement construction.

Researchers have found that a single mutation to a person’s DNA can make that person much more sensitive to pain. NPR’s Jon Hamilton explains.

An international team of scientists wanted to know whether there was a genetic link among people who are especially sensitive to pain. So they studied the genes of hundreds of people with painful conditions, such as osteoarthritis, sciatic and back pain. The team found that these people reported more pain if their genetic code included a change to a single molecule of DNA. Researchers suspect that the mutation increases the tendency of nerves to sense signals associated with dull, aching pain that’s hard to pinpoint. They hope that the discovery of the pain gene will lead to new drugs for people who don’t get much relief from existing painkillers. The new research appears in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Jon Hamilton, NPR News.

The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether drugmakers can be sued by parents who claimed their children suffered serious health problems from vaccines. The justices say they will hear an appeal from a Pittsburgh couple who want to sue pharmaceutical firm Wyeth over serious side effects they claimed their infant daughter suffered after being given a vaccine made by the company. A federal appeals court has ruled that the claim is barred by a federal law which set up a special vaccine court to handle such disputes.

I’m Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.