NPR 2008-07-09

Leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations meeting in Japan have endorsed 1 a goal to cut worldwide emissions 2 of climate-changing greenhouse gases in half by the year 2050. But there is no legally-binding document. G8 leaders say the agreement is a sign of progress. The environmental group, Greenpeace, says it represents a complete failure of responsibility.

A former Environmental Protection Agency official says the Vice 3 President's Office censored 4 global warming testimony 5 delivered by the country's leading public health official, cutting out references to the health risks. NPR's John Nielsen has more.

 Global warming could bring hotter heat waves, bigger rainstorms and new kinds of diseases to the United States. But not much of that got mentioned six months ago, when the head of the Centers for Disease Control talked to Congress about climate change. A former EPA official named Jason Burnett, says most of the references to these risks were cut out of a draft of that testimony by someone in the Vice President's Office. Burnett makes those charges in a letter released by Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer 6 of California. She says the White House is trying to muzzle 7 global warming experts. The Vice President's Office had no comment , but a science advisor 8 to the White House said the references to global warming risks were cut because they were contradicted by United Nations scientists. John Nielsen ,NPR News, Washington.

The U.S. and the Czech Republic have agreed to begin placing part of a U.S. radar 9 missile shield in the Czech Republic . Russia is adamantly 10 opposed to the plan and says it will undermine Russian defenses. But today in Prague, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the focus of the missile shield is not Russia or its allies, but possibly Iran. "We've made the point to our Russian colleagues that we all face a threat from states like Iran that continue to pursue missiles of ever-longer range and we must be in a position to respond." The U.S. also wants to place interceptor rockets in Poland. But the talks on that idea are stalled with Poland demanding billions of dollars in exchange to help it modernize 12 its army and air defenses.

 The Bush administration is downplaying Iraqi calls for a timetable for a US troop pullout. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

As they negotiate with the U.S on a status of forces agreement, Iraqi officials have said they are seeking a specific timetable for a US withdrawal 13. But Defense 11 Secretary Robert Gates says a US drawdown would depend on the situation on the ground. "And as the Iraqi security forces get stronger, and get better. Then, we will be able to continue drawing down our troops in the future." A State Department spokesman said the US and Iraq agreed that US troops will withdraw, but he said administration officials are looking at conditions, not calendars. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

Oil prices fell again today and stocks rose. The Dow Industrials were up 152 points.

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Treasury 14 Secretary Henry Paulson says there may be two and a half million homes across the country in danger of going into foreclosure this year. And he says many of those foreclosures are unavoidable. NPR's Curt 15 Nickisch reports.

Secretary Paulson made his remarks at a major conference on mortgage lending. He blames lax standards for letting people buy homes they could not afford. But he says there is not much policymakers can do to fix those flawed financial decisions. But the government is doing, Paulson says, is trying to stop preventable foreclosures, where homeowners have the means to stay in their homes if they have more reasonable terms. He also wants lenders to look into a certain sort of mortgage financing that's commonly used in Europe. So-called "covered bonds", Paulson says, would make home loans cheaper and draw more people back into the market. He says that would stabilize 16 home prices. And it's their fault, after all, that keeps pushing more homeowners to the brink 17. Curt Nickisch, NPR News.

 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says he expects the Fed to issue new rules next week to protect home buyers from questionable 18 lending practices. He also said the Fed may keep open an emergency lending facility for troubled financial firms past the end of the year. That could help to limit the negative impact of the housing credit crisis on the overall economy.

 The German industrial conglomerate 19 Siemens says it will cut nearly 17,000 jobs around the world to help boost profits and increase cost savings 20 as the economy turns downward. The job cuts amount to more than four percent of the Siemens workforce 21 of about 400,000 people.