NPR News 2013-05-04 加文本

NPR News 2013-05-04

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

The nation's coming off a better than expected month in job growth, the Labor Department says employers added 165,000 jobs April and the unemployment rate slid to 7.5%, a four-year low. It's encouraging news for the administration as the president shores up economic ties with the U.S.'s Latin American neighbors today. He began the trip in Mexico as NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.

Obama spoke to young students gathered in central courtyard of Mexico City's National Anthropology Museum. He urged the crowd to think differently about each other.

Some Americans only see the Mexico that is depicted in sensational headlines of violence and border crossings.

Mexicans, Obama said, see Americans as building high walls and being disrespectful.

I think it's time for us to put the old mind-sets aside. It's time to recognize new realities, including the impressive progress of today's Mexico.

Obama's been trying to tow the two countries strong economic ties, instead of talking about immigration and security issues which usually dominate presidential visits. Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Mexico City.

The National Rifle Association's annual convention is drawing big crowds to Huston. The three-day event kicked off today with fighting words from the NRA leadership, including its chief executive Wayne LaPierre. He accused media of demonizing lawful American gun owners and being in cahoots with politicians, who renewed calls for tighter gun controls in the aftermath of the Newtown school massacre in December. LaPierre challenged the administration of focusing on fixing the the country's mental health system and upholding current gun laws.

Enforce to federal gun laws, on the books right now against drug dealers with guns, gangs with guns and violent felons with guns.

Gun control advocates were also expected to have a presence out the convention.

In southern California, wildfire continues to move its way down canyons toward the coast line. As NPR's Shereen Marisol Meraji reports the spring's fire has charred 10,000 acres and thousands of homes still at risk.

Hot, dry and windy, the combo is not helping firefighters contain the blaze, says Ventura County Fire's Tom Kruschke.

It's to try effective for making of this wild erratic fire that we've been facing here in the last two days.

Kruschke says the fire is just 10% contained and in neighborhoods where evacuations have been lifted. He says residents should be cautious because this is  a fast moving uNPRedictable blaze.

This is just the beginning of May, so this does look good for the rest of the year.

Fires like this, says Kruschke, usually have been well into fire season around September.

Shereen Marisol Meraji, NPR News.

Before the closing bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 142 points nearly 1% at 14,974; NASDAQ up more than 1% at 3,379; S&P 500 also up more than 1%.

This is NPR.

Still no word on the fate of crew members who were on board the U.S. refueling plane that crashed in Kyrgyzstan. Local authorities say it went down near a village about 100 miles west of a U.S. operated airbase, which is a key part of the war effort in Afghanistan.

The death toll from last week's factory building collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh now stands at 500. And within hours of recovering, more victims from the rubble, the country's finance minister was quoted saying that he didn't think the accident overall impact on the garment industry was really serious.  Abul Maal Abdul Muhith made that remark during a visit to the Indian city New Delhi.

The Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets continue their quest tonight to make NBA playoff history. No team has ever won a best four out of seven series after falling behind three games to none. But NPR's Tom Goldman reports both the Celtics and Rockets have a chance. Both teams have Game 6, home games tonight.

The young Rockets trial  defending western conference champion Oklahoma City three zip. Even though the Thunder had lost injury star point  guard Russell Westbrook. But then savvy moves by Houston head coach Kevin McHale deadly three-point shooting and smothering defense on OKC's superstar Kevin Durant and the Rockets pulled the win in three games to two. Boston also has narrowed its series against the New York Knicks to 3:2. The Knicks was a better team, but they've gone lost somewhere between guard J.R. Smith hot head behavior and star Cameron Anthony's ball hugging weights and with the veteran Celtics team, vowing to fight to the end, a series that seemed over a week ago. It's anything but. Tom Goldman, NPR News.

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