NPR News 2011-09-05 加文本

NPR News 2011-09-05

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Nancy Lyons.

President Obama is touring New Jersey today, seeing the effects of hurricane Irene. He comforted a wailing resident whose home was damaged by last weekend's storm.

Are you OK?

Yeah.

I am so sorry. We will be here to help.

Mr. Obama says the government will work to rebuild the towns recovering from Irene. He told residents the entire country is behind them.

Tropical storm Lee is taking its time, moving over the south central Louisiana coast. Forecasters say it is now inland and moving at a crawl, dumping as much as 20 inches of rain in isolated spots. That means there is still a threat of flash flooding in a wide section of the southeastern US, as far east as a Florida panhandle, and as far north as the Tennessee valley.

Daylong negotiations are over in the Libyan city of Bani Waleed, one of Muammar Gaddafi's strongholds. Hardcore loyalists refused to surrender even though a rebel deadline was passed. Opposition fighters are now standing by for the green light to launch an attack in the town. NPR's Corey Flintoff spoke with the negotiator for the revolutionary group outside Bani Waleed.

At this point he says the negotiations are done and it's up to the military commanders on the rebel side as to whether they are going to try to enter the city or take any military actions. But he did emphasize over and over again that the rebels do not want blood shed here in Bani Waleed.

NPR's Corey Flintoff reporting just outside the town.

Tribal leaders, elders rather in Pakistan's northwest trial area are attempting to negotiate the release of 27 Pakistani young men taken by hostage by militants in Afghanistan. A Pakistan official says the group crossed into the Afghan Province of Kunar after losing their way during a picnic along the border area on Thursday. From Islamabad, NPR's Julie McCarthy reports the kidnapping reflects an increasing assertiveness by the Taliban in the border area.

The army spokesman said the kidnap victims are from the Pashto tribal area of Bajaur and are between the ages of 20 and 25. The outlaw Tehrik-i-Taliban or Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the abduction. A faction of the group fled to Afghanistan last year according to Pakistani authorities. The militants reportedly set free the youngest of their captives. A Taliban spokesman told news agencies that those who remain with the militants are not kids and claimed they belong to areas where tribesmen raised malicious to fight the militants. Anti-Taliban elders in Bajaur have paid with their lives, assassinated by the Taliban. In recent weeks, large numbers of militants have also staged a brazen cross-border raid on Pakistani security posts. Julie McCarthy, NPR News, Islamabad.

The head of the International Red Cross is in Syria to address issues concerning the care of those who've been wounded during the government's crackdown on a five-month-old uprising.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Utah’s experiment with a four-day workweek is over. Beginning Tuesday, state workers will be back on the job five days a week. Law makers scratched the experiment saying it wasn't saving as much money as it hoped. Residents were complaining about not having access to services on Friday. The experiment started in 2008 when then-governor Jon Huntsman implemented it to reduce overhead costs and conserve energy. Some employees are not totally on board. Some say they've been using their Fridays to work second jobs or volunteer.

The government is tinkering with food labels again. NPR's Jim Hock reports federal officials want to revise labels in an effort to combat obesity.

The Food and Drug Administration's proposal as aimed putting more emphasis on calorie count which people rely on for weight control. The FDA also wants manufacturers to be more accurate about serving sizes. The new food labels will put less emphasis on nutrition facts like salt and fat content and how much protein and carbon hydrates the particular food has. The attempt to redesign the labels on every box, can and carton has been in the works for nearly eight years. The long standing food pyramid has already been replaced with the image of a plate that gives a picture of what a healthy diet should look like. Jim Hock, NPR News, Washington.

Customers at about 1200 McDonald's restaurant in the UK will soon be able to check the calorie count of their fast food order. The chain says this week will start displaying the calorie information for each food and drink item on wall-mounted menu board. McDonald says it's the first time the figures will be displayed prominently in its restaurants outside the US.

I'm Nancy Lyons, NPR News in Washington.