NPR News 2013-08-11 加文本

NPR News 2013-08-11

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Korva Coleman. 

President Obama spoke at the convention of disabled American veterans this afternoon. He praised veterans for their continuing commitment to help others despite facing their own difficulties.

Volunteering in communities, building homes, being a mentor to local kids, showing up after tornadoes, after Hurricane Sandy to help folks rebuild. I think of the wounded warriors who reached out to the survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing with the example of their own recovery and with a simple message, we stand with you.

Obama also used his speech at the convention in Orlando to focus on health needs veterans that includes post-traumatic stress syndrome and suicide prevention.

An Islamist militant group says its members were targeted by an Israeli drone strike yesterday in the northern Sinai Peninsula. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Cairo Israel has not confirmed its involvement in the strike.

A group, called Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, issued an online statement saying that its fighters were hit by a cross border drone strike while preparing a rocket attack to be launched in the Southern Israel. Egyptian officials speaking anonymously have issued contradictory statements about whether Egypt coordinated with Israel on the strike. Israel has been officially silent on the matter. Bedouin militants in the northern Sinai have clashed with Egyptian security forces for years. Israel briefly closed the airport in the southern city of Eilat Thursday, possibly in response to intelligence about potential attack, but the airport reopened before the militants were killed. Peter Kenyon, NPR News, Cairo.

Colorado authorities have discovered the body of a man who may have died in flash flooding last night. About an inch and a half of rain poured west of Colorado's Springs in just half an hour and fell on lands scorched by a wild fire last year triggering mudslides. Three more people are missing. Three others were hurt.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has rejected a request from the governor of Arizona to declare part of the state a disaster area. This following a fire that killed 19 people. As Mark Moran of member station KJZZ reports from Phoenix the state could appeal.

The Yarnell wildfire last month killed 19 members of an elite firefighting unit and devastated the town about 90 miles north of Phoenix. State officials requested federal aid for the people and nearby town affected by the fire, but in a letter rejecting the request, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said that the fire was not of such severity and magnitude as to beyond the capability of state and local governments and volunteer agencies to handle. The letter prompted Arizona Governor Jan Brewer to question vice President Joe Biden's pledge to help the state when he was here for the firefighters memorial services. For NPR News, I'm Mark Moran in Phoenix.

Authorities in Southern California say they have contained about 40% of the Silver Fire. It's burning about 19 miles east of Los Angeles. Six firefighters and one civilians have been hurt. The blaze scorched about 30 square miles.

Community leaders in northern Ireland are condemning the riots that erupted in Belfast last night. Dozens of people were injured, mostly police and lightly, after being pelted with rocks and other missiles by a crowd of youths. NPR's Philip Reeves says the authorities are bracing for more possible trouble.

Sectarian tensions frequently boil over in northern Ireland at this time of year when protestant unionists who want to stay in the UK and Catholic Republicans who don't hold parades. Each side honoring its own turbulent history. The latest violence flared in downtown Belfast. The police were pelted with bottles, bricks, glasses and paving stones ripped from the streets, after trying to clear the way for a Republican parade.Northern Ireland's Chief Matt Baggott descrited the rioting is mindless anarchy and said it's condemned by 99% of the community. He says his officers will arrest the cooperates and warns the jails will soon be bulging. More parades are planned this weekend, raising fears of more trouble. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.

Officials in Connecticut say they have recovered four bodies from the site of a plane crash into two homes. Authorities say those presumed dead are the pilot, a former Microsoft executive, his teenage son and two children who were in the houses that the plane hit. The aircraft went down just before noon on Friday, the local airport says the pilot had not sent out any distress calls.

This weekend marks the start of the peak of the Perseid meteor shower, these are among the best shooting stars for star watchers to observe every year in August. As many as 100 meteors per hour are expected to plunge through the atmosphere.

I'm Korva Coleman, NPR News, in Washington.