NPR News 2010-12-28 加文本

NPR News 2010-12-28

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

Thousands of air, rail and road travelers along the East Coast are stranded or looking for other ways of getting home after a snowstorm blanketed much of the region over Christmas weekend. In New York City, which bore the brunt of that storm, subway passengers were marooned for hours on trains that broke down overnight. Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road commuter rails connecting the city to the suburbs were suspended.

"The trains on tracks 17 and 19 will not depart the station and is only being used to provide customers with additional seating NE."

Amtrak meanwhile says it has resumed service between Boston and New York, but major airlines are facing huge backlog of passengers from canceled flights. Utility crews are working to restore power to more than 22,000 customers in Connecticut in the wake of the major storm. Diane Orson of member station WNPR reports that driving in that state is still hazardous.

The powerful Nor'easter dumped up to 15 inches of snow in parts of Connecticut. Wind gusts reached 68 miles an hour along the shoreline. Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell says blowing snow continues to affect travel on state roads.

"If you don't have to be out, by all means, don't go out. Let the DOT, let the state police do their job. I know that many of us would love to be out doing that after-holiday shopping, but those sales will still be there tomorrow."

An emergency operation center will remain open throughout the day to assist utilities as they restore power to customers. New outages are cropping up along the coast, where warmer temperatures allow the snow to stick to power lines. For NPR News, I'm Diane Orson in New Haven.

Former Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky could face more jail time. As Jessica Gallaher reports from Moscow, a Russian judge has handed down a ruling in the second big trial against the imprisoned businessman. Khodorkovsky and a business partner were found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering.

Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev were found guilty of embezzlement and money laundering. Many analysts saw the trial as a litmus test of the Kremlin's promises to reform the country's court system, which they say is marred by corruption and political influence. Khodorkovsky, once Russia's richest man, was nearing the end of an eight-year sentence for fraud and tax evasion charges, when prosecutors added new charges that he stole $27 billion in oil from his now defunct company Yukos through pricing schemes. Khodorkovsky's lawyers dismissed the charges, calling them absurd, and say it's the Kremlin's politically motivated attempt to keep him behind bars. About 100 demonstrators chanted "freedom" outside the courthouse. No word yet when the sentencing is expected to take place. For NPR News, I'm Jessica Gallaher in Moscow.

Stocks are mixed. Dow's down 17 at 11,557.

This is NPR News.

Italian authorities are investigating the attempted parcel bombing at the Greek embassy in Rome today. Greek ambassador Michalis Kambanis says authorities defused the package; no one was hurt.

"We immediately informed the carabinieri, who arrived here within three minutes with the appropriate services and the bomb was neutralized."

On Thursday, similar packages exploded at two other embassies. Two people were injured.

Two people are dead after an early morning shooting at an adult entertainment club in Phoenix. Arizona Public Radio's Gillian Ferris Kohl reports that patrons helped subdue the gunman before police arrived.

Witnesses say the gunman opened fire just before midnight at the Great Alaskan Bush Company in northwest Phoenix. Police say the 28-year-old man shot four people before running out of ammunition. That's when patrons of the club wrestled the man to the ground and held him until authorities arrived. One person died shortly after arriving at a Phoenix hospital. Another victim died several hours later. Authorities say two other people were wounded, including a 20-year-old woman. There's no word yet on a possible motive for the shooting. For NPR News, I'm Gillian Ferris Kohl in Flagstaff.

Stocks remain mixed after China moved to hike interest rates to offset rising inflation, the second time in three months that occurred. Investors are concerned that a slowdown in China will affect markets worldwide. Here's the latest from Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average down 16 points at 11,557 in trading of just over a billion shares, the NASDAQ Composite Index up three at 2,669 with S&P 500 up slightly at 1,258.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.