NPR News 2013-04-19 加文本

NPR News 2013-04-19

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

A sorrowful performance from renowned cellist Yo-yo Ma, on a day of reflection for the city of Boston following Monday's terrorist attack that killed three people and wounded more than 170. Today president Obama spoke during an interfaith service, and NPR's Ari Shapiro was there.

President Obama delivered an emphatic message of strength and healing comparing the city and the country to Marathoners who keep going no matter the adversity.

We carry on, we race, we strive, we build and we walk and we love and we raise our kids to do the same and we come together to celebrate life and walk our cities and cheer for our teams.

He then thanked Boston's Marathon volunteers at a gym across the street. He told them they've inspired the country and he's looking forward for to the 118th Boston Marathon next spring. Ari Shapiro NPR News, Boston.

Homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano brief lawmakers on Capitol Hill today about the investigation into Monday's bombings that killed three and wounded more than 170. She says video taken just before the explosions shows two men displaying suspicious behaviour.

There is some video that has raised the question of those, that the FBI would like to speak with. I wouldn't characterize them as suspects under the technical term. But we need the public's help in locating these individuals.

She gave no details on what the video shows.

Crews are searching the smouldering wreckage of the farming Texas community of west where a fertilizer plant exploded killing as many as 15 people and injuring more than 160. They are still in a search and rescue mode. Governor Rick Perry says he was contacted by president Obama.

President Obama called from Air Force One as he was en route to  Boston, and we greatly appreciate his call and his gracious offer of support.

Federal prosecutors are charging a Mississippi man with threatening president Obama and others. NPR's Ailsa Chang, reports Paul Kevin Curtis is accused of mailing letters with the poison ricin to Obama and at least two other public officials.

The FBI says in each of the envelopes from Curtis, there was a letter that read " no one wanted to listen to me before. There are still missing pieces. Maybe I have your attention now, even if that mean some one must die. " Each letter ended with I am KC and I approve this message. Investigators say Curtis announced on a blog he's writing a book, called Missing pieces. That's about the black market to sell human body parts. Curtis allegedly sent envelopes to president Obama and a  Mississippi judge and senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Wicher's office had actually received other letters in the past with similar language.  Ailsa Chang, NPR NEws, the Capitol.

Before the closing bell, Dow was down 82 at 14,537. This is NPR.

In a dramatic scene captured on Pakistani television, the nation's former military ruler Pervez Musharraf escaped arrest in Islambad after his bill was revoked in a treason case. He and his security detailed pushed through a crowd of police and onlookers then sped away in the black suv. Musharraf's now barricaded inside his compound in the Islambad area, in a politically volatile situation. He's set to be under house arrest. Musharraf who seized power in a coup in 1999, recently returned from self-opposed exile to take part in next month's parliamentary elections. But he met with lukewarm support. Now he's legally blocked from taking part in a  vote pending allegations of treason for which he has not been formally charged.

NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered three new planets that are close to earth's size. NPR's Joe Palca reports astronauts say these planets are in what's called the habitable zone.

The habitable zone refers to the orbital space around the star that's not so close to the star that the planets surface would boil. Or so far that everything would freeze. Earth and Mars are considered to be in the habitable zone around our sun. But Kepler spacecraft detects planets orbiting distance stars by finding small dips in the light coming from those stars then an orbiting planet passes in front. As they described in the Journal Science, astronauts in NASA's aims research center found two planets, some one larger than earth orbiting a star called, Kepler 62, a star somewhat dimmer than our sun. They also found a somewhat larger than our earth planet around Kepler 69, a star very similar to the sun. Joe Palca, NPR NEws.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR NEws, in Washington.