NPR News 2013-12-20 加文本

NPR News 2013-12-20

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

The Senate has passed a two-year budget agreement that will roll back across-the-board spending cuts that were set for January. As NPR’s Ailsa Chang reports the deal will reduce the chances of government shutdown in January, but does not guarantee it won’t happen.

Just to make it clear, a government shutdown happens when appropriations run out. So Congress still has to pass a spending bill by January 15th to truly keep the government open. This budget deal raises the ceiling on how much money can be spent under that bill and it’s likely members of Congress will want to bicker in January over how much is being spent on what. But lawmakers are optimistic that the disagreements won’t reach crisis level this time around. The deal reverses $63 billion in spending cuts and several members of Congress are upset that the increased spending meant reducing cost of living increases for military retirees under age 62. Ailsa Chang, NPR News, the Capitol.

President Obama met with members of a Surveillance review panel today to discuss their report. As NPR’s Ari Shapiro tells us a team of experts recommends reign in Americans spying activities.

This review suggests taking mass phone and email data away from the government and letting a third party hold onto it. The panel also suggests some transparency steps to help Americans know how much information the National Security Agency’s vacuuming up. In reaction, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy said the message to the NSA is now coming from every branch of government and from every corner of our nation. You have gone too far. The ACLU urged President Obama to accept the group’s recommendations, but the White House did not sound eager to fully throw its way behind the report. A spokesman says President Obama will review the recommendations and deliver a speech next month about his plans. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

The Federal Reserve’s main interest rates setting arm wrapped up its two-day meeting in Washington today, announcing beginning next month, it will start to dial back a bit on a bond buying program aimed at boosting the economy, rather than pull back all at once, the Central Bank appears to be ready to do so gradually, announcing it will reduce its current stimulus program by just $ 10 billion to roughly $75 billion a month. Beth Ann Bovino is an economist at Standard and Poor’s, says the move comes at a time the Fed. believes the economy is recovering.

We see the economy is getting stronger and stronger, particularly because of the private sector resilience, it’s been surprisingly robust despite all these fiscal shocks. And we think that will continue into 2014.

Fed. says it will keep short term interest rates at near zero until the unemployment rate falls below 6.5%.

Builders broke ground new homes in November, their fastest pace in more than five years. It's the latest sign the housing recovery is picking up steam even with modestly higher mortgage interest rates. Commerce Department says developers began construction on new homes and apartments in November to seasonally adjusted annual rate, just over 1 million units.

A strong response on Wall Street to the Fed.’s message today, the Dow was up 292 points.

This is NPR.

Anger continues to bubble up in the Indian capital of New Delhi over a U.S. treatment of one of that country’s diplomats. According to a New York-based diplomat, she was subjected to a strip search along with a cavity search, and DNA swabbing after being arrested on Visa charges. The diplomat accused of lying under Visa application about how much she paid to her housekeeper, an Indian national. Prosecutors contended the housekeeper received less than $3 an hour. In response, Indian police remove barricades around the U.S. embassy in New Delhi, officials there also demanded to know the salaries paid to Indian staff in U.S. embassy households. 

A 317-year-old Stradivarius violin sold at a London auction today for  $2,268,431. While far off the record, Larry Miller reports it was feared this particular instrument might never be seen to her again.

Bidding was described as hotly contested and fierce the focus of the attention, a 1696 Stradivarius violin that had been stolen from an international soloist while she grabbed a bread at a London train station in 2010. The thief offered it to a  bus driver for $140 who turned it down because his daughter already played the recorder. The violin then mysteriously turned up three years later, still in excellent condition.  Jason Price of Tarisio Auction House  told the BBC why it struts a various command such a high price.

It sounds great, and it’s a supply and demand issue. There are fewer and fewer of them. They are not making more of them.

Around 600 violins made by Stradivarius remain in the world. For NPR News, I’m Larry Miller in London.

For package shipper Fedex, some good news today, the company says its latest quarter profits were up 14%. That was in part on stronger margin in cost cutting. Even with an uptick, the results were still slightly behind analysts estimates.

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