NPR NEWS 2008-02-05

Fans took to the streets of Manhattan last night as the New York Giants managed to pull off one of professional football's biggest upsets. The Giants shocked the previously 1 unbeaten New England Patriots 2 in the Super Bowl by beating the Pats 17 to 14. Quarterback Eli Manning led the Giants on a late fourth quarter drive that culminated 3 with a touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress with just 35 seconds remaining. 'There are so many touch plays by this team and big wins throughout the whole season that they make it, they get as soon as point and again the same thing tonight, a lot of big plays to win the game.' Manning was named the game's Most Valuable Player. It was a bitter loss for the Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick who had kind words for the Giants. 'It was a tough game about the way we expected about the way it was our last time and congratulate to Giants. You know, they made some plays there at the end. We had the chances, but they just, they just made a couple more than we did.' the Patriots' loss means the 1972 Miami Dolphins remain the league's only unbeaten single season franchise 4.

Two Palestinian suicide bombers 6 attacked a shopping area in the southern Israeli desert town of Dimona today killing 7 at least one Israeli and wounding ten others. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.

An Israeli police spokesman says one bomber 5 blew himself up in a busy outdoor shopping area in downtown Dimona. A policeman then shot dead a second attacker before he could detonate his explosives belt. It's not yet known where the attackers came from. Already several militant 8 Palestinian groups have claimed responsibility. Israeli security officials had been warning of possible attack from Palestinians infiltrating 9 along the poor Sinai border with Egypt ever since Hamas militants 10 blew up the southern Gaza border barrier letting tens of thousands of Palestinians cross into Egypt over the last 12 days. Dimona is home to Israel's secretive nuclear program. It's the first suicide attack in Israel since January 2007. Eric Westervelt, NPR News, Jerusalem.

China's brutal 11 winter weather continues, leaving millions stranded 12 today. Freezing storms have killed scores of people and left travelers without means to get to holiday destinations. The Chinese New Year is just days away and for many, it's the only opportunity to take a vacation. The Chinese Weather Service says the country is suffering through the coldest winter in a century.

Wall Street will look to continue the momentum 13 from last week when the markets opened this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week up more than 4%. Asian markets were pleased by Wall Street's advances last week and rallied today. Markets in China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea all showed gains.

A U.S. military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba will hear legal challenges today in a case of a Canadian terror suspect. The 21-year-old is accused of killing a U.S. soldier when he was just 15 years old.

From Washington, this is NPR news.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain took a break from campaigning yesterday to watch the Super Bowl with independent Democrat 14 Senator Joseph Lieberman. McCain says he is incredibly nervous as Super Tuesday approaches. Most polls put McCain ahead of GOP rival Mitt 15 Romney but McCain says he's seen that movie before. Mitt Romney meanwhile kicks off a bicoastal campaign tour today with stops in Tennessee, Georgia and California. NPR's Audie Cornish reports.

Romney wrapped up a weekend of campaigning in the Midwest at a Super Bowl kick-off game in St. Louis. There Romney told supporters that he was the best and last Conservative option in the GOP race. 'My campaign has prospects 16 of going all the way. And if we wanna keep the, er, if we wanna keep our party in the House of Reagan Bill, that we are gonna have to get behind my campaign.' Romney says he is focusing on picking up as many delegates as he can in states with their order for Congressional District instead of winner take-off. He is especially focusing attention on California where he hopes to run competitively with current frontrunner John McCain. Audie Cornish, NPR News, Nashville.

The two Democrats 17 running for the presidential nomination 18 took a different approach during their campaigning yesterday. Democrat Barack Obama appeared with some celebrities 19 including Oprah Winfrey, Caroline Kennedy and her cousin California's first lady Maria Shriver. Hillary Clinton meanwhile spent Sunday attacking Republicans saying that she's been tested.

And the head of the United Auto 20 Workers says the union will not endorse 21 any presidential candidate during the primary season. However, Ron Gettelfinger told a Washington meeting of union activists 22 that it will work aggressively to elect a Democrat to the White House.

I'm David Bianculli, NPR News, in Washington.