NPR News 2011-06-25 加文本

NPR News 2011-06-25

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

President Obama will try to restart negotiations on the federal budget deficit next week. NPR's Scott Horsley reports Mr. Obama plans to meet separately on Monday with Republican and Democratic Senate leaders.  

Up until now, President Obama has left much of the negotiating to Vice President Biden. The talks led by the vice president came to an abrupt halt on Thursday, when House Republican Leader Eric Cantor said he would no longer take part. Republicans have resisted a call by Democrats to use tax hikes to help close the budget gap along with spending cuts. Now, it'll be up to the president to try to broker a compromise. Many lawmakers want some progress on deficit reduction before they'll vote to raise the government's debt ceiling. The deadline for that vote is looming in less than six weeks. Scott Horsley, NPR News, the White House.

Wading through the water in this part of Minot, North Dakota is the only way to get around after the Souris River overtopped most levees to surge past a 130-year-old record level. Now, several feet above flood stage, many homes and businesses, possibly hundreds, are either under water or expected to be within days. Business owner Denise Limbo's home is safe, but she describes the anxiety watching other homes slowly fill with muddy water.

"The wading is so hard. I mean, the west in the town is filling up with water. You know, so they've been showing pictures, left and right on our local station, Facebook, of the water just basically coming in. It's not coming in, you know, like a tsunami, like this odd. I mean, it's just coming in just like a silent predator."

Limbo says cranes are on her property, pulling as much dirt and clay as possible to shore up secondary levees.

Accused Boston mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger is back in Boston at a federal courthouse two days after he was arrested in California on charges connected to 19 murders. The 81-year-old has spent 16 years as a fugitive.

Syria's protest movement answered the call for dialog from the Syrian president with demonstrations across the country. At least seven people died. More from NPR's Deborah Amos.

In what has become a Friday ritual for more than 100 days, Syrian protesters headed to the streets and faced gunfire in a suburb of Damascus and in the city of Homs. Protest organizers name the day's rally Bashar is No Longer My President, a message to Bashar al-Assad, who called for a national dialog earlier this week. In the city of Homs, activists and residents reported that armed men, known as Shabiha, or ghosts, because they're not officially part of the security services, vandalized shops and fired on activists. The European Union has imposed wider sanctions on Syria, including individuals and businesses with connections to the regime. Deborah Amos, NPR News, Beirut.

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The US House won't bar air strikes or drone attacks in Libya in its decision to vote down a measure today that would have cut off money for military hostilities, but in a largely symbolic rejection of the president's policy in Libya, the House also voted not to give President Obama authority to continue US involvement in the military operation against Libyan forces.

The chair of the House Education Committee is challenging the right of the Education Department to grant waivers for the No Child Left Behind law. Chairman John Kline says it's up to Congress to make any changes to the key education law. NPR’s Larry Abramson reports the Education Department has said it will grant the waivers unless Congress rewrites No Child Left Behind.

Last week, the Education Department announced plans to grant waivers to the law, which requires that all students be proficient in reading and math by 2014. The department said it would only grant waivers to districts that took specific reform measures. Secretary Duncan says without those waivers, most American schools will be labeled as failing and face sanctions. John Kline, a Republican from Minnesota, has sent Education Secretary Arne Duncan a letter questioning the department's authority to take that step. Kline's committee has approved two pieces of legislation meant to overhaul the education law with more on the way. The Senate is following a different path, making an agreement unlikely in the near term. Larry Abramson, NPR News, Washington.

Before the close on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average down 115 points, or nearly 1% lower, at 11935; NASDAQ off more than 1% down 34 points at 2653; S&P 500 down 50, or more than 1%, at 1268.

This is NPR News.