NPR 2008-08-14

President Bush is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Georgia to show support for the embattled president there. He's also launching a humanitarian 1 mission with the Pentagon in the lead. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

President Bush says a C-17 plane is already on its way to deliver aid to Georgia and he's promising 2, as he put it, a "vigorous and ongoing 3" humanitarian mission. He called on Russia to let the US ships and planes bring in the supplies and to abide 4 by a ceasefire. "We expect Russia to meet its commitment to cease all military activities in Georgia, and we expect all Russian forces that entered Georgia in recent days to withdraw from that country." President Bush said Russia must act if it wants to repair the damage to its relations with the US and Europe. Michele Kelemen, NPR News Washington.

Republican presidential hopeful John McCain's also weighed in on the tenuous 5 situation in the former Soviet 6 republic, saying today that Russia's invasion of Georgia is a stark 7 reminder 8 the world is a dangerous place. Speaking to reporters in Michigan, McCain said the Russian action should prompt a complete re-examination of US relations with Moscow, though he said he doesn't expect to return to the days of the Soviet Union. "I don't think we're gonna re-ignite the Cold War here with Russia, I think this is a very serious situation, but I don't see this as a return to nuclear stand-off, et cetera et cetera." McCain, while ruling out military action, did say there should be heightened security for Ukraine, the Baltic States and Poland. He said because of Russia's actions, NATO should also address the future of the alliance's relationship with Russia.

The head of the Democratic Party in Arkansas was shot and killed today after a gunman attacked the party headquarters in Little Rock. NPR's Audie Cornish reports.

Police say the suspect in the killing 9 went to the Democratic Party headquarters in Little Rock and asked to see Chairman Bill Gwatney about volunteering. Instead officials say the suspect opened fire on the state party chair before fleeing in a pickup 10 truck. Dr. Charles Allen sits on the party's Executive Committee and says the attack is devastating 11. "We're sending our prayers out to the Gwatney family, and we're certainly remembering those, that, that were in the headquarters because it, it was very dramatic to them but we are all, we are all in grief." Allen says the party's working on organizing a vigil for Gwatney who was just 49. The suspect in the case was shot and killed by police near the Community of Sheridan south of Little Rock after leading authorities on a 30-mile car chase. Audie Cornish, NPR News.

Department store giant Macy's says its earnings 12 for the second quarter dipped slightly from a year ago. Macy says for the three months ending in June, it earned 73 million dollars or 17 cents a share. That was about two cents a share below Wall Street analysts 13' expectations.
 
On Wall Street the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 109 points today, ending the session at 11,532. The NASDAQ dropped two points.

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Despite the vacation season, Americans cut back on their driving for the eighth month in a row in June. US Transportation Department says the number of highway miles traveled fell 4.7% from a year ago. NPR's Jennifer Ludden has the story.

The decline translates into 12 billion miles not driven, mostly in rural areas, which have been hit hardest by high gas prices. At the pump, it's meant（这里有听友认为是met，我只是感觉别扭，并没有充分的理由说不对，所以如果大家有什么意见的话，欢迎PM我） more than 700 gallons of gasoline and diesel 14 not bought. The American Petroleum 15 Institute says the cutback has essentially 16 erased 17 five years of growth in gasoline demand. The drop in gas sales is also affecting highway construction and repairs which are funded by a gas tax. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters expects the gap to get worse as motorists look for better fuel efficiency and alternate fuels. Peters suggests some new form of highway funding is needed. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News Washington.

A three-alarm fire broke out at Apple last night. One building at the company's Silicon 18 Valley headquarters was damaged. From member station KQED in San Francisco, Molly Samuel reports.

The fire burned the roof and second floor of one of the buildings at Apple's campus in Cupertino. There were reports of smoke coming from the building late Tuesday night. The blaze's burned for more than three hours. Firefighters were able to contain it after midnight. No one was injured in the fire. A spokesman for the Santa Clara County Fire Department said Apple can expect to see extensive smoke damage. The fire may have started in an air-conditioning unit in the building. For NPR News, I'm Molly Samuel in San Francisco.

Businesses added to their stockpiles of inventories 19 in June at the fastest pace in five months. The Commerce Department says stockpiles on store shelves and backlots rose seven tenths of a percent. That was nearly double the previous month's rise.