NPR 2008-06-03

Democratic presidential frontrunner Barack Obama says Republican John McCain is too out of touch with American workers to help the nation’s struggling manufacturing base. Obama spoke 1 at a town hall meeting in Detroit suburb of Troy. Detroit Public Radio’s Quinn Klinefelter has more.

 Obama made no mention of the Democratic National Committee’s decision to seat delegates from the state’s disputed primary and gave only a brief nod to rival candidate Hillary Clinton, noting he was sure she would provide strong support in November. Instead, Obama focused squarely on John McCain and his quote that the US economy had made good progress in recent years. “He’s not talking to the folks in the State of Michigan. He’s not talking to the millions of additional people that have fallen into poverty while George Bush has been in office. He’s not talking to you, and he’s not talking to me. And that’s why we can’t afford to let John McCain spend four more years with the same economic policies of George W Bush.” Obama told a crowd of several thousand frustration 3 over the nation’s economy would help bring the Democratic Party together for the fall elections. For NPR News, I’m Quinn Klinefelter, in Detroit.

 Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it’s arrested 1,800 people in a month-long campaign to track down illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds. The early morning raids took place in six states. NPR’s Jennifer Ludden has more.

 The operation’s part of a broader effort since 2003 to more aggressively find and deport 4 illegal immigrants who’ve defied deportation 5 orders, especially sex offenders 6, gang members or those with criminal convictions. ICE head Julie Myers says the number of immigrant absconders had been climbing every year to more than 600,000. “We’re actually making progress in reducing the number of fugitive 7 aliens in this country. We still have a lot of work to do, but we’ve reduced the fugitive alien population by nearly 60,000 since October, 2006.” There are now 75 teams who track down these immigrants with two dozen more on deck by the end of the fiscal 8 year. Immigrant advocates complain that while they target criminals, they also sweep up others. About 500 arrested in this recent effort had no criminal background. Jennifer Ludden, NPR News, Washington.

 Texas judge has begun allowing some of the 400 children seized from a polygamist ranch 9 to be reunited with their parents. As part of the agreement, the state says parents must agree to unannounced visits by child welfare workers. Any plans to travel more than a hundred miles must be cleared with the state. Marleigh Meisner with Texas Child Protective Services says investigation 10 into the treatment of the children at the Yearning 11 for Zion Ranch will continue. “We certainly are going to comply with the judge’s order in this case. And we are going to continue our investigation.” Texas child welfare workers seized the children amid allegations some of the teenage girls at the ranch were being sexually abused.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 134 points to close at 12,503. The NASDAQ lost 31 points. The S&P was down 14 points. This is NPR.

 Senator Edward Kennedy is out of surgery today with his doctors saying a procedure to begin treatment of the 76-year-old lawmaker’s cancerous brain tumour 12 was successful and accomplished 13 our goals. Kennedy, who travelled to Duke University Medical Center, underwent a roughly three-and-a-half-hour procedure and is expected to begin chemotherapy and radiation in coming weeks. Kennedy was diagnosed recently with a malignant 14 tumour after suffering a seizure 15. He’s expected to remain at the North Carolina facility for about a week.

 Officials are still trying to determine what caused yesterday’s fire at Universal Studios theme park in Los Angeles, though county fire officials say based on a preliminary investigation, it has been ruled “accidental”. We get the latest from Hettie Lynne Hurtes of member station KPCC.

 The theme park is open again, but at least a dozen fire trucks remain on the studio lot as smoke continues to rise from the twisted piles of girders. Tourists on the park’s tram ride applauded firefighters as they rode past. The fire broke out Sunday and burned for more than 12 hours, destroying the popular King Kong attraction, the courthouse square from the film “Back to the Future” and the New York streetscape. It’s not yet known whether the affected 16 attractions will be rebuilt or replaced by new attractions, and the cause of the blaze is still under investigation. For NPR News, I’m Hettie Lynne Hurtes, in Los Angeles.

 Two storied names in the automobile 17 business are under new management, effective today. Ford 2 announced the finalization 18 of its sale of Jaguar 19 and Land Rover to India’s Tata Motors in a deal that will net the struggling No.2 domestic automaker about 1.7 billion dollars. The amount Ford stands to receive from the sale of the two companies is about one-third of what it initially 20 paid to acquire them.