NPR News 2010-10-30 加文本

NPR News 2010-10-30

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

President Obama's expected to speak shortly about suspicious packages out of Yemen that have prompted international security alerts. The packages were found at an airport north of London and a cargo site in Dubai. Sweeps were conducted at airports in Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey earlier today. So far, nothing dangerous has turned up. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston says now the FBI's considering at least two main lines are thawed behind today's security alerts.

Was it supposed to be a dry run for another bombing? That's one of the series. Another possibility is that this is never supposed to be a bombing at all. But in fact, was it supposed to be a distraction, or at least to get everyone spun up. And it's a low-cost way of spinning people up and taking that there's a terrorist threat.

NPR's Dina Temple-Raston.

A short time ago, a United Arab Emirates' flight carrying cargo from Yemen landed in New York, escorted by fighter jets. It was greeted by law enforcement officials, but the FBI says there was no known threat on that flight.

Authorities in Washington, DC. are tightening security for Sunday's Marine Corps Marathon, because a shooter is targeting military buildings around the region. No one's been hurt. However, NPR's Giles Snyder reports authorities fear the threat could escalate.

The latest shooting, the second at a museum devoted to the Marines, happened sometime last night and authorities are working under the assumption that it is related to three others. Those shootings are previous one at the same museum, another at a Marine Corps recruiting station in a different Virginia suburb and one at the Pentagon itself have already been linked. The FBI's John Perren says the gunman might have a grievance against the Marine Corps.

"We'd like to know what this grievance is, and what we can do to try to help resolve it. We're willing to listen to him and hear his side of the story."

The FBI is urging the gunman to surrender. Giles Snyder, NPR News, Washington.

The US economy's growing. It expanded at an annual rate of two percent July to September. Financial analyst Roy Blumberg says while the job market remains weak, at least the hemorrhaging has stopped.

"One thing has changed here in the last couple of quarters that didn't before. I think this—that those who are employed have less fear that they're going to lose their job."

But today's data out of the Commerce Department is drawing lukewarm reaction from economists in general who say it didn't have much of an impact on the high unemployment in the US.

French unions are ending their strikes at oil refineries in major ports. Those refineries have reopened. Unions voted to call off the demonstrations after they were unable to get parliament to vote against the pension reform bill that raises the retirement age in France from 60 to 62.

At last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average up four points at 11,118; NASDAQ up slightly at 2,507.

This is NPR.

The parents of a kidnapped British aid worker killed in a US rescue attempt in Afghanistan earlier this month have called her death a tragic mistake. As Larry Miller reports from London, they concede there's no way to know whether it was better to try a rescue or negotiate with what they describe as extremely dangerous and militant criminals.

John and Lorna Norgrove say once their daughter Linda was kidnapped, they realized anything could happen. They say they have no animosity toward the US for her death thought to have been caused by a grenade thrown by American forces during the rescue attempt.

"First of all we don't know what the outcome would have been if no rescue attempt had been made. It would appear to us that the rescue attempt was so close to being a total success and at the end there is what appears to have been a human error."

"Yes, we very much feel we don't want to get into the blame game."

Norgrove's parents say the US deserves credit for admitting to the mistake, when it could have easily covered it up. For NPR News, I'm Larry Miller in London.

NATO's reporting the deaths of 20 Afghan insurgents in southern Afghanistan today. The military alliance said one of its helicopters had come under fire. Forces on the ground have recovered 20 bombs, firearms and several vehicles during fighting in Kandahar province.

A Virginia man charged with planning to attack the subway system in the Washington, DC area has appeared in court. Farooque Ahmed's lawyer says his client will not challenge his detention. Farooque Ahmed was arrested Wednesday after allegedly attempting to join up with al-Qaeda terrorists.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News in Washington.