NPR 2009-10-16

The House of Representatives has approved a bill to allow foreign terror suspects at the Guantanamo Bay to be sent to the U.S. for trial. The measure passed 224 to 193, only one Republican voted for it. Opponents said transferring suspects to the mainland U.S. would be potentially dangerous. The bill now goes to the Senate for a vote.

 President Obama visited New Orleans today, and at a town hall meeting told residents his administration will not repeat the mistakes of his predecessor 1 in responding to the devastation 2 of Hurricane Katrina.

 “We are committed to making sure that a disaster like Katrina does not happen again, and that means, in Washington, a focus on competence 3 and accountability.”

 In his sixth visit to New Orleans, his first as president, Mr. Obama vowed 4 to free up assistance money and cut red tape to help speed up rebuilding efforts.

 Goldman Sachs says its profits soared in the third quarter of this year but the picture was gloomier for another financial giant Citicorp. NPR’s Jim Zarroli reports.

 Goldman’s profits rose to nearly 3.2 billion dollars during the quarter that just ended, largely because of gains made in trading commodities, currency, and fixed-income investments. That was nearly four times what it made in the same quarter last year. Goldman has made so much money this year that it is on track to pay its employees more than 20 billion dollars in bonuses. This is the second Wall Street giant to announce big profits this week. On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase said it made more money than it expected last quarter, which helped to push the Dow above 10,000 for the first time in a year. But Citi Group says it lost money during the third quarter. The company said its net revenue rose 25%, but that was offset 5 by nearly eight billion dollars in consumer credit losses. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

 The Labor 6 Department reports the number of first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week. Meanwhile, motorcycle maker 7 Harley-Davidson is trimming some product lines and laying off more people. The Milwaukee-based firm announced the changes today as it released quarterly financial results. Chuck Quirmbach of Wisconsin Public Radio has details.

 Harley-Davidson says its revenue, net income and earnings 8 per share are down in the third quarter of this year compared to last year’s third quarter. Harley says the slide in its retail 9 sales of motorcycles over the last three months wasn’t as bad as a decline during the second quarter. Still Harley plans to discontinue its Buell product line in December, a move that will lead to about 180 lost jobs. Harley Davidson will also try to sell its MB Agusta sport motorcycle business which is based in Italy. For NPR News, I’m Chuck Quirmbach in Milwaukee.

 On Wall Street today, the Dow closed up 47 points at 10,062. The NASDAQ picked up one point closed at 2,173.

 This is NPR.

 President Obama signed into law today a five-year seven-billion-dollar aid package for Pakistan, even though the Pakistani military charges the measure intrudes 10 on the country’s internal affairs. The US is hoping to support Pakistan's civilian 11 government in its effort to fight Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants 12 operating in the country.

 The prosecutor 13 of the International Criminal Court says he’s investigating the deadly military crackdown on opposition 14 protesters in Guinea last month, in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed. NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports.

 Luis Moreno-Ocampo said the International Criminal Court had initiated 15 a preliminary probe to determine whether crimes perpetrated by the security forces in Guinea fell under the court's jurisdiction 16. Soldiers opened fire on apparently 17 unarmed pro-democracy protesters on September 28th with reports of a wave of sexual assaults on women in public. The ICC said those responsible must be held accountable. The violence has drawn 18 international condemnation 19. On Wednesday, the European Union’s Aid Commissioner 20 Karel De Gucht suggested that Guinea’s military leader, Captain Moussa Daidis Camara, should stand trial for crimes against humanity. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the military rulers must apologize to their people, then step down. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton, NPR News, Dakar.

 The International Criminal Court in The Hague has set a trial date of October 26th for Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. He’s charged with 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide during the Bosnian War, specifically the 1995 massacre 21 of 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica.

 I’m Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.