NPR News 2010-06-19 加文本

NPR News 2010-06-19

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jim Howard.

The administrator of the 20-billion-dollar escrow fund being established to help victims of the BP oil spill in the Gulf says he plans to pay legitimate claims quickly. In an interview of NPR's "All Things Considered", Ken Feinberg says he hopes to pay claims within 30 to 60 days.

"People can't wait for compensation. They can't wait for some sort of discretionary decision. These decisions have got to be made in a matter of weeks. People are in desperate straits down here. And that's why I'm down here today and not in Washington. I just can't wait."

Meanwhile, the House Judiciary Committee says BP has paid only $71 million in claims out of an estimated $600 million since the start of the disaster.

President Obama is using the groundbreaking of an Ohio road project to draw attention to his economic stimulus plan. Today's event marks though what the White House says is the 10,000th road project funded by the stimulus dollars.

"Rebuilding our infrastructure is one of the keys to our future prosperity. If we're going to rebuild America's economy, then we've got to rebuild America, period."

Other jobs funded by the stimulus this summer include improvements at national parks and upgrades to community drinking water facilities. Mr. Obama says that while the economy is showing signs of recovery, the country still has a way to go, and more people still need good jobs.

The Senate has belatedly voted to spare doctors who treat Medicare patients a 21% pay cut, but as NPR's Julie Rovner reports, the move comes too late to prevent the cut from taking effect at least temporarily.

The pay cut, which neither Democrats nor Republicans in Congress support, technically took effect June 1st. Medicare officials have been holding doctors' bills ever since in anticipation of Congress passing legislation to cancel the cut. Lawmakers have already done that three times in the past six months, but while the House canceled the cut as part of a broader tax and spending bill in late May, the Senate has so far failed to reach agreement on the measure. Now, the Senate has passed a stand-alone bill that would give doctors a 2% raise for the next six months. But the House has gone home for the weekend, so final action can't take place until next week. Meanwhile, Medicare officials say they are starting to process doctors' bills they've been holding with the 21% cut. Julie Rovner, NPR News.

Russia's news agency is reporting that the country's defense minister is considering sending troops into Kyrgyzstan to protect what it calls "strategic facilities". UN officials say more than one million people have been affected by recent violence in the country and need food and other aid supplies. More than 400,000 people have been left homeless in the recent ethnic clashes there.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 20 points to 10,454 in four billion dollars of trading. The NASDAQ Composite Index is up two points at 2,309, and the S&P 500 is up one point at 1,117.

This is NPR News.

Crews continue to assess the damage from a series of violent storms and tornadoes that tore across parts of Minnesota yesterday. Three people are dead, and nearly 60 farms have been damaged. Mayor Wayne Wolden of Wadena, Minnesota says the damage at his community is unimaginable.

"I'm seeing residential areas that are just devastated. There are areas that are just flat. The trees are down. The garages are gone, sucked up. Rooftops gone."

Officials in Minnesota say up to nine tornadoes cut a nearly 20-mile path through rural Freeborn County.

In the World Cup, the United States has survived a draw against Slovenia. That means that the US still is eligible to advance past the group stage. From South Africa, NPR's Mike Pesca reports.

Down two to nothing in the first half, the United States' future in this World Cup seemed bleak. Slovenia came into the game, having early collected a win against Algeria. They enjoyed a reputation as a tough, defensive team, so a two-goal lead seemed daunting. But Landon Donovan, probably the best player the United States has ever produced, scored early in the second half. Then at the 82nd minute, Michael Bradley, the coach's son, received a fine pass off the head of Jozy Altidore and popped the ball over the Slovene goalkeeper. The score was tied at two. It appeared as if the US pulled ahead, but a late goal was disallowed by a questionable call from the referee. The final game in group plays against Algeria on Wednesday. Mike Pesca, NPR News, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Thousands of people are waiting in line in Florida, many of them for hours to get a first look at Universal Orlando's new theme park. Harry Potter fans were greeted by Daniel Radcliffe and other stars from the series of movies.

For NPR News, I'm Jim Howard in Washington.