NPR News 2013-10-09 加文本

NPR News 2013-10-09

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Jack Speer.

As the government shutdown persists, calls for House Speaker John Boehner to allow a vote on the Senate spending bill are growing louder. As NPR’s Ailsa Chang reports, both President Obama and Senate leaders say the speaker could single-handedly end the shutdown if he held such a vote.

House Speaker John Boehner claimed over the weekend there aren’t enough votes to pass the Senate spending bill, which neither defunds nor delays the Affordable Care Act. President Obama challenged Boehner to hold a vote on the Senate bill to see if that’s the case. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says the clean spending bill the Senate passed was a measure Boehner personally agreed to over the summer.

“What I say to the speaker (is) allow a vote on the resolution that would end the shutdown -- legislation that you, John Boehner, proposed in the first place.”

Boehner says he first wants negotiations with the White House and Senate over changes to the health care law and reducing the deficit. Ailsa Chang, NPR News, the Capitol.

With the partial government shutdown entering its second week, the White House is indicating it might be open to a short-term increase in the nation’s borrowing authority. Though speaking today to breakfast sponsored by online news site Politico, National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling said a longer extension would be better. Sperling says the size of that increase should be up to Congress. He did reiterate the president’s position the administration will not negotiate on the debt because he said it would be seen as sanctioning the threat of default as a bargaining chip.

Secretary of State John Kerry says he is pleased Syria has begun dismantling its chemical weapons arsenal. State Department says he was not praising Bashar Assad though as NPR’s Michele Kelemen explains.

After meeting his Russian counterpart in Indonesia, Kerry told reporters that the Assad regime deserves credit for quickly starting the process of destroying its chemical weapons stockpiles.

“It’s a good beginning and we should welcome a good beginning.”

Back in Washington his spokesperson Marie Harf insisted that the US hasn’t changed its position on Assad.

“What Bashar al-Assad has done is horrific. He has no legitimacy. Nobody is giving him any praise.”

She says Kerry was only stating the fact that Assad regime controls Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles, and it has responsibility to follow through on its pledge to give up those weapons. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

A defeat for Big Tobacco before the Supreme Court today, justices declining to hear an appeal of a Florida lawsuit that made it easier for sick smokers and their survivors pursue lawsuits against tobacco companies. The court refused to hear an appeal from Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and the Liggett Group. Tobacco makers have been requesting that high court justices overturn its 2.5-million-dollar verdict by a Tampa jury in the death of a sick smoker. The state’s courts had ruled the tobacco companies knowingly sold dangerous products and hid the dangers of smoking.

Stocks starting out the week on a down note, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 136 points to end the session at 14,936; the NASDAQ dropped 37 points; the S&P 500 closed down 14 points. You’re listening to NPR.

Testimony in the case of BP’s blown-out oil well has now turned to how much oil actually spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. Lawyers for the company and the federal government today began presenting a US district court judge with conflicting theories, each seeking to back up their differing estimates. Government has said it believes 4.2 million barrels of oil gushed into the Gulf from the company’s blown-out well in 2010. However, BP is saying the amount is only slightly more than half that. Number chosen is important because the figure will be used to calculate any penalties BP might face for violating the Clean Water Act.

Japan Airlines announced today it will buy more than two dozen white body jets from European airplane maker Airbus. The deal could be worth an estimated 9.5 billion dollars. As NPR’s David Schaper explains, it’s a big blow to American airplane maker Boeing, which has long dominated the Japanese market.

Japan Airlines has relied on Boeing for its entire fleet of aircraft for decades. But as it looks to replace the Boeing 777 jets that will soon retire, JAL turned to Europe's Airbus for the first time in the company’s history. Japan Airlines is ordering 31 A350s with an option to buy 25 more. The first planes could be ready for delivery next year. Boeing is yet to launch its own 777 replacement, which will be called the 777X. And industry analysts say those development delays coupled with the recent problems with the 787 Dreamliner could cost Chicago-based Boeing even more market share in Japan and elsewhere. David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

A flawless white diamond, the size of a small egg, has sold for more than 30 million dollars at auction in Hong Kong, (the) 118-carat oval stone ranking as most significant such stone ever graded by the Gemological Institute of America. Two phone bidders were competing for the diamond.

I’m Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.