NPR 2008-09-16

President Bush tried to calm investors 1' nerves this morning, a day after two venerable financial institutions were hobbled by the mortgage crisis. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports.

The president spoke 2 to reporters just hours after investors began to react to a dramatic weekend, in which US government officials and Wall Street bankers sought to help two financial powerhouses avoid bankruptcy 3. Mr. Bush tried to send a message of calm. "In the short run, adjustments in the financial markets can be painful both for people concerned about their investments and for the employees of the affected 4 firms. " But he said that was only temporary and the economy was resilient enough to deal with the latest upheaval 5. President Bush's comments come after around-the-clock discussions this weekend with US officials and Wall Street bankers. They were trying to help the nation's largest brokerage firm Merrill Lynch avoid bankruptcy. Merrill agreed to let Bank of the America buy it. Lehman Brothers couldn't find a white knight 6 and filed for bankruptcy today. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News. 

Turbulence 7 on the financial markets sent stocks into a tailspin today. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 504 points. That's a nearly 4.5% loss. The NASDAQ dropped 81 points. The S&P 500 was down 59 points today.

In the area of Texas coast ravaged 8 over the weekend by Hurricane Ike, search and rescue crews are still looking door to door to make sure everyone is accounted for. In some coastal 9 areas, rescuers said they could discover more fatalities 10. In some spots the storm leveled dozens of properties. The death toll 11 from Ike and remnants of the storm in Texas and eight other states has risen to at least 34.

Millions of people in the Midwest remain without power and thousands are flooded out of their homes as the remnants of Ike left a path of destruction from the Gulf 12 Coast up into Canada. NPR's David Schaper has more.

Near hurricane force winds in Ohio left two million homes and businesses without power including portions of Columbus and Cincinnati. About 450 Ohio school districts canceled classes today. A National Weather Service hydrologist says there is flash flooding all over the place. National Guard troops helped evacuate 14 communities in Northwest Indiana. A portion of Interstate 94 in Chicago has been closed because of high water. On the city's northwest side, the Chicago River flooded the Albany Park neighborhood, forcing the evacuation of close to 400 homes. One of those homes belongs to Maryland Dollar. " So my refrigerator, my couch, my six-foot dresser, all my scrambing stuff is floating about this far from the ceiling. " More than nine inches of rain fell on Chicago from Saturday morning through Sunday night. David Schaper, NPR News, Chicago.

In Southern California today some rail commuters embraced as they grieved the loss of fellow passengers in last Friday's collision between a Metrolink commuter 15 train and a freight train that killed 25 people near Los Angeles. L. A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa boarded a commuter train earlier today saying he hoped to dispel 16 any fears about taking the train.

This is NPR News.

Republican vice 13 presidential candidate Sarah Palin told a crowd in the Denver suburb of Golden today that regulations governing financial markets need a complete overhaul 17. NPR's Jeff Brady has more.

Palin addressed hundreds of supporters in a dirt floor arena 18 in the Denver suburb of Golden. She said she was pleased the Federal Reserve and Treasury 19 declined to bail 20 out investment bank Lehman Brothers. Palin said the regulatory system for financial markets is outdated 21 and needs to be reformed. "Washington has been asleep at the switch and ineffective and management on Wall Street has not run these institutions responsibly and that's put companies and markets at risk. " Palin received big cheers when she said as president John McCain would put a stop to multi-million dollar payouts to CEOs who break the public trust. She didn't provide specifics but the crowd didn't seem to mind. Many came to see in person the GOP's newest star and hear her speak. Jeff Brady, NPR News, Denver.

As for her Democratic counterpart Senator Joe Biden said today the McCain ticket is simply offering more of the same. Speaking to a crowd in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, Biden said McCain, despite his much vaunted independence, has adopted many of the same policies as President Bush. "John McCain doesn't stand with the middle class by that measure. He stands firmly with George Bush in the corner of the wealthy and the well-connected. " Biden blamed the Bush administration for inaction in the face of job cuts in the auto 22 industry and said McCain, like Mr. Bush, is out of touch with the economic suffering of average Americans.

Appliance maker 23 Whirlpool says it'll lay off 700 employees at its Fort Smith, Arkansas factory. The company blames the layoffs 24 on softer consumer demand and higher costs for raw materials.