NPR 2008-03-09

From NPR News in Washington, I’m Korva Coleman.

 Wyoming Democrats 1 today have what some say is once in a lifetime chance to affect a national election. The nation’s least populous 2 state has 12 Democratic delegates at stake in today's caucuses 3. Wyoming Public Radio's Eddie * reports.
 
Many Wyoming Democrats say it’s not easy being blue in a small red state. Today they’ll seize their moment in the spotlight 4. Polls in highly populated Laramie and Natrona counties opened this morning, while some smaller counties' polls don't open until this afternoon. Both Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama toured Wyoming yesterday, each packing venues 5 with Democrats and Republicans and independents who want to get a piece of the action. As for who will win today it is any one’s guess. The state is so small and the attention so recent that there aren't any polls. For NPR News, I’m Eddie * in Laramie.
 
Leaders of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela have shaken hands and agreed to end a tense dispute that led to troop movements along the Venezuelan boarder. It all began when Colombian troops crossed into Ecuador and killed a Colombian rebel leader. Colombia accused Venezuela of supporting insurgents 6, and Venezuela and Ecuador then sent troops to their borders with Colombia. Now a meeting of those countries’ presidents has ended the growing crisis. Notes from the meeting in the Dominican Republic say Colombia has apologized for the cross-border incursion and won’t repeated it. But this commits all countries to fight criminal threats to their national stability.
 
Iraq's president told the president of Turkey during a sate 7 visit today he would not allow Kurdish rebels to launch attacks against Turkey from Iraq. NPR’s Dina Temple-Raston reports.
 
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani urged rebel Kurds to lay down their arms and said Iraq could work with Turkey on a number of security issues important to both countries. Talabani is a Kurd and his visit comes at a time when Turkey and Iraq are trying to put a volatile 8 situation behind them. Just last month, Turkey invaded northern Iraq, targeting rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party. Turkish forces were in Iraq for 8 days before they pulled out. The PKK has been fighting for political and cultural autonomy in southeastern Turkey and has been using northern Iraq as a base to launch attacks. Talabani said Iraq could work to ensure that the PKK wasn't able to use Iraq as a base of operations. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News, Baghdad.
 
Suspected arms dealer 9 Viktor Bout 10 will stay in the custody 11 of Thai police. They arrested him Thursday on suspicion that he planned to sell weapons in Thailand. Bout has been accused of supplying rebels around the world with guns and with violating UN arms embargos. Some fighters he is accused of helping 12 include rebels in Columbia, fighters with former Liberia leader Charles Taylor in his effort to destabilize Sierra Leone, and fighters in the former Soviet 13 Republics. U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia says this ends a reign 14 of terror.
 
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Aircraft maker 15 Boeing says it’s thinking about challenging an Air Force decision awarding a huge aerospace 16 program to a Boeing rival. The rival team includes both US aircraft maker Northrop Grumman and European aircraft maker EADS. Boeing says it has significant concerns especially about how the bids for the job were evaluated. U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne told Congress Wednesday that the rival Airbus/EADS offer was better.
 
It was another grueling and losing week on Wall Street. Steve Beckner of Market News International reports.
 
One thing after another kept the stock market off balance this past week as increasingly anxious investors 17 watch the deepening mortgage credit crisis slam the economy. The week culminated 18 in a dismal 19 February employment report. Instead of rising by 30,000 as expected, nonfarm payrolls 20 fell by 63,000. For many that clenched 21 the case for recession; another early morning Federal Reserve announcement that it will greatly boost lending to strained banks and securities firms did little to stem the tide of selling that ensued when markets opened. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost nearly 1 and a quarter percent to close well below the 12,000 level, the S&P 500 and NASDAC composite fell more modestly. For the week, the Dow drops 3, the S&P 2.8 and NASDAC 2.6%. For NPR news, I am Steve Backner.
 
Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher 22 is still in a hospital for an undisclosed illness. She is in stable condition. The 82-year-old has been given precautionary medical tests. Her doctors say she remains 23 under observation, but is well.
 
I’m Korva Coleman, NPR News, in Washington.