NPR News 2011-07-31 加文本

NPR News 2011-07-31

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Nora Raum.

It's a long hot weekend in Washington, where both the House and the Senate are in session, and the debt ceiling deadline looms. NPR's Louise Schiavone has the latest.

The Republican-dominated House has slapped down a measure from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"On this vote, the ayes are 173; the nays are 246. Two-thirds not voting in the affirmative, the rules are not suspended, and the bill is not passed."

Procedural hurdles stand in the way of a Senate vote on the Senate bill before midnight even as 43 Republican senators have told Reid they will vote no. Said Reid: "It really is a worst possible time to be conducting a filibuster." The Reid plan would raise the debt limit by 2.4 trillion dollars. Republicans complain it's too large an increase, with Defense bearing too great portion of the reductions. Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.

So what's next? President Obama has called the top two congressional Democrats to the White House for an update. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi are meeting with the president at this hour. On the Republican side, House Speaker John Boehner is holding a news conference right now. It just got underway a few minutes ago. The administration and many economists warn that if the limit isn't raised by Tuesday, the government won't have enough money to pay its bills.

NATO says it has disabled Libyan television because it was a tool of Muammar Gaddaffi in harming civilians. But as(with口误) Terri Schultz reports, the alliance's air strikes might not have actually blocked the Libyan leader's airwaves.

NATO spokesman Colonel Roland Lavoie says the alliance struck three ground-based satellites in Tripoli to, in his words, silence Gaddaffi's terror broadcasts.

"TV was being used as an integral component of the regime apparatus designed to systematically oppress and threaten civilians and to incite attacks against them. In light of our mandate to protect civilian lives, we had to act it."

NATO says it was careful to protect both civilians and to the long-term capability of Libyan TV to operate after the conflict ends. However, it may also have preserved to the short-term capability as reports from Tripoli say state TV is still on the air. NATO had no immediate explanation for the discrepancy. For NPR News, I'm Terri Schultz.

Officials in Afghanistan say 10 people were killed in a bombing in the eastern part of the country yesterday. Most of the dead were Afghan soldiers. Two NATO service members also died. A local official identified the two as Americans. Also yesterday, a van hit a bomb in southern Afghanistan. Eighteen Afghan civilians were killed. US officials say the insurgents are getting more sophisticated and lethal devices from Iran.

Federal regulators took over three more banks last night — one each in Indiana, Virginia and South California. This raises to 61, the number of bank failures this year.

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A plane originated in New York crashed in Guyana today. Officials say there were no deaths, but there were several injuries. There were 163 people aboard when the Caribbean Airlines jet apparently overshot the runway while trying to land in rainy weather and broken too. The US National Transportation Safety Board is being asked to help in the investigation.

Turkey is facing turmoil within its military this weekend. Istanbul is scrambling to appoint a new chief of staff after the resignations of the country's top four military officers. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Istanbul the crisis marks a test of strength between the military and the government.

Just days ahead of an important annual military meeting, the commanders of Turkey's air, land and sea forces resigned along with the chief of the general staff. The military has been angered by the arrest of large numbers of senior officers in cases alleging a military plot several years ago to destabilize Turkey and topple the moderately Islamic ruling AK Party. Analysts say the uNPRecedented mass resignations signal a new level of tension between the civilian government and the military leadership that reflects unease among the secular Turks at the AK Party's growing power. The resignations are unlikely to affect ongoing operations, including Turkey's contributions to NATO and its crackdown on Kurdish separatist militants in southern Turkey. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Istanbul.

Religious authorities in Egypt and Saudi Arabia announced today that Ramadan will begin Monday. During the holy month, Muslims are expected to abstain from food, drinks, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. It's also a tradition to pardon prisoners. A lawyer for two American hikers jailed in Iran for two years is hoping his clients will be among them.

I'm Nora Raum, NPR News in Washington.