NPR News 2013-08-10 加文本

NPR News 2013-08-10

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

President Obama has plans for a sweeping review of the National Security Agency's surveillance programs and an overhaul of the secret court that monitors and authorizes those programs. NPR's Craig Windham reports Obama's telling reporters at the White House that the U.S. must be more transparent about efforts to collect data about phone and Internet communication.

The president says he'll appoint a high level task force including civil liberties and intelligence experts to review the surveillance programs.

And I'll consider how we can maintain the trust of the people, how we can make sure that there absolutely is no abuse in terms of how these surveillance technologies are used.

Mr. Obama says the goal is to restore public trust in the programs and assure Americans they do not intrude too far on their privacy.

Let's examine what is working, what's not, are there additional protections that can be put in place and let's move forward.

Although, scrutiny of the surveillance programs was prompted by the leaks about their existence   by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Mr. Obama says he does not consider Snowden to be a patriot. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

U.S. and Russian officials have been working today and repairing relations hurt by disagreements over Snowden and Syria as well as North Korea. Another point of contention between Washington and Moscow, Russia's anti-gay propaganda law which fines anyone holding gay pride rallies. Some critics are calling for boycott of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi next year. President Obama says he strongly disagrees with that. He says the U.S. is likely to be stronger for having gay and lesbian athletes.

One of things I am really looking forward to is maybe some gay and lesbian athletes bring home the gold or silver or bronze, which I think, would go a long way in rejecting the kind of attitudes we are seeing there.

Citing concerns about the impact the law could have on visiting athletes, the International Olympic Committee is asking for further language clarification from Russia.

U.S. drone strikes are hammering Yemen this week, part of an effort to hit al-Qaeda affiliate there. NPR's Tom Bowman reports there have been 20 strikes in Yemen this year, five of them this week alone.

Yemeni officials are saying at least seven Saudi Arabian militants have been killed in the attacks along with at least three al-Qaeda militants. As many as 34 suspected militants have been killed in the past ten days, officials said. Yemeni officials said the Saudis are either funding money to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the local offshoot of the terrorist group, or heading to Yemen for training. U.S. officials are not commenting in the drone strikes which are carried out by the CIA in a joint  special operations command. The increased drone strikes come as the U.S. last week issued a global terrorist alert and closed 19 diplomatic posts, saying the threat came from al-Qaeda in Yemen. Tom Bowman, NPR News, Washington.

Before the closing bell, Dow was off 73 at 15,425.

This is NPR.

Millions of students won't have to pay double the interest rate on their loans fall under a new law President Obama signed today. The rates are linked to the financial markets so, even though lower rates have been restored, they could yield higher costs in the long term.

The Silver Fire burning in southern California San Jacinto Mountains has now consumed 16,000 acres. It's 25% contained. Ken Vincent from member station KVCR has an update. 

Helicopters flew all night dropping water on the fast moving blaze now burning in the hills above wind farms on the western edge of the Coachella Valley. It's the constant wind typical of this area that has made this fire more difficult to control. Thirty to forty mile per hour gusts are pushing flames ever closer to Palm Springs city limits. The fire has already forced the evacuation of more than 1,800. Fifteen hundred firefighters will endure daytime temperatures in the 90s. Five firefighters and one civilian have been injured. Forecasters predict little change in the weather over the weekend. For NPR News, I'm Ken Vincent in San Bernardino, California.

As many as three people may be dead after a plane crash into a residential neighborhood in Connecticut this morning. The aircraft went down as it attempted to land at a New Haven airport. Two homes caught fire. Earlier, authorities said they were trying to find the pilot and two children who were in one of the houses.

Oprah Winfrey says she was the target of racism in Zurich. Switzerland says it's true and swiftly apologized to media mogul after she told Entertainment Tonight about it. Winfrey says the boutique clerk who apparently did not recognize, refused to show her a $38,000 handbag assuming Winfrey could not afford it. Winfrey is a billionaire with a b.

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