NPR News 2014-03-28 加文本

NPR News 2014-03-28

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

Authorities in Washington state working at the scene of a devastating landslide north of Seattle say the death toll remains at 16, but at least eight additional bodies located but not recovered. However, the number of missing people or unaccounted for individuals has been lowered. Snohomish County Emergency Management Director John Pennington says that number has gone from 176 to 90. However, he says there’re still some others whose status isn’t clear.

“It did drop significantly. I do believe that it might drop a little bit more than that, but at least we’re getting a clear picture of the number of individuals that are out there, that we need to focus on at this point.”

The huge landslide that developed a one-square-mile area near the town of Oso, Washington destroyed or damaged dozens of homes, bringing some in deep mud. Two hundred search personnel have been working at the scene.

Transportation Safety Administration, or TSA, is calling for more armed police officers at airport security checkpoints. NPR’s Nathan Rott reports the TSA conducted a nationwide review of airport checkpoints after the deadly shooting at Los Angeles International Airport last November.

The TSA’s review has recommendations for everything from employee training to improved emergency technology. But the headline grabber is a call for an increased police presence at “high-traffic locations during peak travel times.” That includes ticket counts and security checkpoints. Last November a gunman entered LAX’s Terminal 3 on a busy Friday morning and started firing at TSA agents. Thirty-nine-year-old Gerardo Hernandez was shot a dozen times and killed; two other officers and a school teacher were wounded. Last week a report prepared for L.A.’s airport authority found that the emergency response to that shooting was poorly executed and plagued with bad communication. Nathan Rott, NPR News.

Two Congressmen are calling for more accountability from the US Border Patrol. NPR’s Ted Robins says new legislation demands more transparency and oversight from the agency.

New Mexico Republican Steve Pearce and Texas Democrat Beto O'Rourke say their constituents frequently report mistreatment by the Border Patrol, but there’s no coherent complaint process. The Border Patrol also refuses to release the result of investigations into incidents of agents killing people. Among the things the bill would do create an independent oversight commission and require the Border Patrol to report more openly on the use of force, on migrant deaths and on accusations of civil liberties violations. Both Congressmen represent border districts. Ted Robbins, NPR News.

Bank of America has reached a more than $9 billion settlement to resolve a dispute over mortgage-backed securities with the Federal Housing Finance Agency. It’s part of a 2011 suit filed against 18 financial agencies including Bank of America over allegations the banks falsely represented mortgage loans behind those securities which soured after the housing bubble burst. 

Stocks give up some of their modest gains during the morning hour to close sharply lower. The Dow was down 98 points; the S&P 500 fell 13 points. This is NPR.

As the search for that missing Malaysian Airlines plane continues another day, court documents have already been filed by a US law firm on behalf of a relative of one of the passengers. So far search efforts have failed to locate the wreckage of the jet or the bodies of any of the 239 people onboard when the plane went down. Officials believe the jet crashed in a remote section of the southern Indian Ocean. Court filing asks a judge to order both Malaysian Airlines and the maker of the plane Boeing to include any documentation about the possibility of a fatal depressurization in the cockpit of the plane.

Republican Congressional leaders are sharply criticizing the Obama administration’s decision to give some uninsured Americans more time to finish signing up for a health plan beyond next Monday’s deadline. NPR’s Craig Windham reports people who cannot finish enrolling online will be given an extension until mid-April.

The government will take people at their word rather than trying to determine if they did in fact have problems completing the sign-up process. That drew a scathing reaction from House Speaker John Boehner.

“What hell is this, a joke?”

And Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell says all the waivers and changes have undermined the healthcare law.

“The heart of the law—the individual mandate—may actually no longer even be viable. It’s basically become the legal equivalent of Swiss cheese.”

But consumer advocacy groups have been calling on the administration to provide additional time for people to finish enrolling, given the possibility of heavy traffic or technical problems on the federal website as the deadline approaches. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

Wall Street’s famous bull sculpture’s finally been freed from its barricades, according to New York Post. The police have now taken down the barricades that surround the 3.5-ton bronze sculpture that was put up in 2011 amid fears the iconic statue might be a target of protesters including the group Occupy Wall Street.

I’m Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington.