NPR 2009-09-06

The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal is acknowledging that some civilians 1 were at least injured in an airstrike yesterday against two hijacked 2 fuel tanker 3 trucks. "From what I have seen today in going to the hospital, it's clear to me there were some civilians who were harmed at that site." McChrystal did not say if any civilians were among the 60 or more people killed in the attack. He was speaking after visiting a hospital where some of those wounded were being treated including a ten-year- old boy with severe burns. NATO investigators 4 are looking into the attack.

 Universities and colleges are just barely into the new semester and they’ve already seen a steady stream of suspected swine flu cases. School administrators 5 are watching closely hoping to keep the spread of swine flu in check. NPR’s Larry Abramson has more.

 Many schools are reporting cases in the dozens. Schools in Georgia are reporting some of the highest numbers. Emory University has seen more than 200 cases, so have Georgia Tech and University of Georgia. Washington State University is reporting 2,000 cases of flu-like symptoms among its 25,000 students. Public health officials say the numbers are in line with what they’ve been expecting as different flu strains including swine flu spread throughout the U.S. But schools are staying open and urging sick students to stay in the dorm. Some schools have set aside special sick dorms. Symptoms on campus have been mild and the American College Health Association says there are no reports of flu-related death and so far few hospitalizations. Larry Abramson, NPR News, Washington.

 Two astronauts from the space shuttle Discovery are beginning a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. From Orlando, Pat Duggins reports.

 Spacewalkers Christer Fuglesang and Danny Olivas will be working as electricians outside the space station. The two astronauts want to install power cables for a module 6 and its observation dome 7 which was delivered by a shuttle crew in February. The crew members will also attach electrical wires to heaters to keep one of the space stations docking tunnels warm. This is the third and final spacewalk in Discovery’s mission to the outpost. During the two earlier work sessions, astronauts replaced an ammonia tank on the station’s cooling system. Another shuttle crew training in Houston for a future flight watched this work from the ground. They will replace another ammonia tank on the outpost next year. For NPR News, I’m Pat Duggins in Orlando.

 Finance ministers from the world’s largest industrialized nations have agreed to raise capital requirements for banks and to restrain excessive pay for bank executives. Treasury 8 Secretary Timothy Geithner. “The financial system is showing signs of repair; growth is now underway. However, we still face significant challenges ahead.” Geithner and his counterparts meeting in London agree that the monetary 9 and fiscal 10 policy must remain expansionary for as long as necessary to prevent a slide back into a global recession. The finance ministers stop short of calling for caps on bankers' pay though. The U.S. and Britain had opposed firm pay limits.

 This is NPR News from Washington.

 Fire crews are making slow but steady progress in their effort to contain the massive wildfire in north of Los Angles that has destroyed more than 76 homes and other structures and killed two firefighters. The blaze has charred 11 more than 240 square miles of land. The fire is now nearly 50 percent contained. A 100,000-dollar reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. Investigators have determined 12 the fire was deliberately 13 set.

 One of the nation’s busiest bridges is close to traffic for the Labor 14 Day weekend. The San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge is undergoing major earthquake safety improvements. From member station KTVD, Rory Gelerger has the story.

 On any given day, the Bay Bridge carries 280,000 vehicles between San Francisco and Oakland. But it’s now temporarily closed. Construction crews are replacing an entire 300-foot section. Bart Ney with the Californian Department of Transportation is on the bridge, witnessing what he calls the single biggest construction operation in State history. "What we are trying to do is create a new seismically 15 safe bridge, in the same footprint as a historical bridge that sitting there. And what we’re doing is we are routing traffic around, we are cutting a section out, we are building a new bridge, all in a very short period of time." The bridge is set to reopen Tuesday morning by 5:00. For NPR News, I’m Rory Gelerger in San Francisco.

 Five people were killed when a small plane crashed in heavy fog in Oklahoma. The plane was en route to Dallas when it went down in a park near a baseball field in Tosy shortly after takeoff. Investigators believed the plane may have hit a guide wire from the communications tower.