NPR News 2010-12-30 加文本

NPR News 2010-12-30

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

Rescuers reportedly are trying to get to two people still trapped in the wreckage of a burning furniture store in suburban Detroit. A third person was rescued earlier today hours after an apparent natural gas explosion. Wayne City Manager John Zech told cnn the explosion around 9AM local time was loud.

"City Hall is about four blocks from the scene, and the people in City Hall, where I am now, they knew something serious occurred."

Nearby buildings had to be evacuated.

Danish and Swedish authorities have custody of five men suspected of plotting attacks on a newspaper that five year ago published controversial cartoons of Islam's Prophet Mohammad. The BBC's Mike Wooldridge says most of the suspects were arrested in Denmark.

The Danish justice minister described the plot as terrifying and probably the most serious terror attempt in the country, and authorities say underlining this threat directed particularly against institutions and individuals related to the publication of the cartoons in 2005. The Danish security service said three of the four men arrested in Denmark had entered from Sweden during the night; several of those arrested appeared to be "militant Islamists" with links to international terror networks; and the police had seized a machine gun with a matching silencer and ammunition. A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Denmark called the revelation of the latest plot "extremely worrying", and he said they condemned any act of terrorism regardless of the motives.

The BBC's Mike Wooldridge.

The blizzard hit northeastern US isn't alone in its winter misery. A powerful storm is pummeling the West as well. Arizona Public Radio's Gillian Ferris Kohl reports blizzard conditions are expected across that state.

The National Weather Service has issued a rare blizzard warning for mountainous areas in southern and northern Arizona. Between two and three feet of snow are expected to fall before evening, and at least another foot is predicted overnight. The Arizona Department of Transportation is preparing for highway closures as snowfall increases, and the snow level drops throughout the day, down to about 3,000 feet. Some northern Arizona communities are still recovering from last week's winter weather when floodwaters washed away six homes and severely damaged at least a dozen others. For NPR News, I'm Gillian Ferris Kohl in Flagstaff.

Oil prices are holding at near two-year highs around $91 a barrel. Former Shell Oil President John Hofmeister, who now leads an energy development advocacy group, says prices are likely to keep rising.

"We use 20 million barrels a day. We produce about seven. We're not drilling. We're gonna produce about six a year, year and a half from now. That means we have to import more oil while the whole rest of the world is also importing oil. It's gonna put tremendous upside pressure on the crude oil price."

Heating oil and other energy commodities usually cost more as the weather gets colder.

At last check on Wall Street, Dow was up more than 40 points at 11,617.

This is NPR.

Dr. Billy Taylor has died. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports that the jazz pianist, composer, and educator passed away last night following heart failure at a New York City hospital. He was 89 years old.

Billy Taylor's contribution to American music is hard to get your arms around. He was a ubiquitous jazz world presence from the days of World War II and a true ambassador of the form. Before hosting shows on New York Radio, National Television and NPR for decades, he took to the streets in a jazzmobile to teach kids about the music. Among his countless compositions, was this civil rights anthem made famous by Nina Simone. Billy Taylor was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1992. He won a Grammy, an Emmy and a Peabody, but his greatest legacy may be the enumerable fans and students of a form he talked to love. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.

A donor in what's widely recognized as the world's first successful organ transplant has died. Ronald Lee Herrick passed away Monday in May at the age of 79. On December 23rd, 1954, Herrick donated a kidney to his twin brother, allowing his sibling to live for eight more years. The lead surgeon, Dr. Joseph Murray, went on to win the Nobel Prize.

After days of heavy rainfall, river levels are rising across already severely flooded parts of northeastern Australia. Meteorologists say high waters are making their way towards the sea, making communities downstream more vulnerable.

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