NPR News 2011-03-29 加文本

NPR News 2011-03-29

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

In a few hours, President Obama will deliver a nationally broadcast address about his reasons for intervening in Libya, where rebels with help from coalition air strikes are pushing westward toward the government-controlled capital Tripoli. NPR's Mara Liasson reports that Mr. Obama will attempt to quell concerns from members of Congress and the public about the US role in Libya.

According to White House officials, the president will try to clear up some of the confusion about what the US wants the end state to be in Libya. Although regime change is stated US policy, it is not the goal of the UN-authorized military effort, which is meant only to protect innocent civilians from attacks by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, not to take out Qaddafi himself. The White House Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough also says the Libyan intervention does not set a precedent for intervention elsewhere, for example, in Syria, if the leaders there use similar force against their people. McDonough says the president makes decisions based on US national interest, not on consistency. Mara Liasson, NPR News, the White House.

Workers at the troubled nuclear plant in Japan are trying to figure out how to get rid of large pools of radioactive water in some parts of the facility. NPR's Richard Harris reports they need to clear away that water in order to restore more of the plant's electrical supply.

Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant would like to get electricity back in order to run all the plant's cooling and control systems. Right now, they're improvising with firetrap pumps and backup generators, but the work is slow as officials try to figure out how to clear out dangerous radioactive water in some of the trenches and tunnels where wires are supposed to run. They're not sure exactly where the contaminated water is coming from and there is no obvious place to dispose of it safely. Some radiation has made its way to the ocean, where scientists detected high levels late last week. Those levels have seen to drop, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency says the radiation in the sea does not appear to threaten marine life and there is no fishing in the area in any event. Richard Harris, NPR News, Washington.

More people are signing on to buy homes but not enough to show a major comeback in the housing market. The National Association of Realtors found a more than 2% jump in contracts people signed last month to buy homes. Sales rose in every region except the Northeast. Meanwhile, Ken Mayland, economist at ClearView Economics, says the price of homes keep falling.

"What we're seeing a double dip in home prices and kind of the next wave of foreclosures probably gonna push home prices down more in 2011."

High unemployment and tougher lending practices are still deterring many people though from buying homes.

At last check on Wall Street, Dow was down 22 points at 12,198.

This is NPR.

A college student accused of buying materials to build a weapon of mass destruction is pleading not guilty. Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, who faces up to life in prison if convicted, was arraigned today in Texas. That's where the Saudi national attended college. He is charged with plotting to attack US targets including former President Geroge W. Bush's home in Dallas.

Florida has announced the creation of a statewide strike force to crack down on the criminal distribution of prescription drugs. NPR's Greg Allen reports the effort will target doctors, pharmacists and distributors who have made Florida a destination for those who traffic in painkillers and other powerful drugs.

Florida Governor Rick Scott says 98 of the top 100 doctors dispensing oxycodone, a powerful prescription painkiller, are based in Florida. Many work at pain clinics where for a few hundred dollars people get a quick examination and a prescription. The pill mills as they're called attract addicts and drug traffickers from throughout the Southeast. Governor Scott says he's deploying personnel and nearly a million dollars in state funds to form prescription drug strike teams across the state.

"The focus of these strike teams are to identify, investigate, apprehend those in the medical and pharmaceutical distribution chains for facilitating the abuse of prescription drugs."

Scott is still opposed covert to the tool many law enforcement authorities have asked for, a statewide database that would allow them to put an end to so-called doctor shopping by addicts and drug traffickers. Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

The Democrats' nearly six-week boycott over bills to curb union rights in Indiana reportedly is over. The head of Indiana's House Republican says those lawmakers who fled to Illinois have agreed to return to the state House.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.