NPR 2009-08-09

Searchers are looking for the bodies of nine people who were aboard a sightseeing helicopter and a small plane that collided in midair over New York's Hudson River today. From member station WNYC, Marc Garber reports.

 Rescue helicopters are hovering 1 as emergency crews work on both sides of the river, and police divers 2 are in the water. The helicopter was carrying about a half dozen people when it collided with a plane around noon, sending debris 3 into the river and onto the Hoboken New Jersey 4 waterfront. The Piper PA-32 plane took off from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, and the helicopter was a Eurocopter AS350 owned by Liberty Tours, a sightseeing and charter company. For NPR News, I'm Marc Garber in New York.

 New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the crash was simply not survivable.

 I think it's fair to say that this has changed from a rescue to a recovery mission, and that probably was what we could have started out with the instant it happened." Bloomberg says his main concern now is for the safety of the divers looking for the bodies of the victims. Two bodies have been recovered so far.

 Sonia Sotomayor has been sworn in as the nation's newest Supreme 5 Court Justice. Her left hand rested on a Bible held by her mother as she repeated the words stated by Chief Justice John Roberts.

 "I, Sonia Sotomayor do solemnly swear. . . "

 ". . . that I will administer justice, without respect to persons. "

 ". . . that I will administer justice, without respect to persons. "

 ". . . and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. "

 ". . . and do equal right to the poor and to the rich. "

 It was the second swearing-in of the day for Sotomayor who becomes the first Hispanic and only the third woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court. Earlier she took an oath in a private ceremony in a conference room at the Supreme Court.

 At a mass trial in Iran today, a French researcher and an Iranian employee of the British Embassy in Teheran confessed to involvement in the unrest that followed the Iranian presidential election. The trial has been condemned 6 by the European Union and the governments of Britain and France. Teri Schultz has more from Brussels.

 Action against one EU country, citizen or embassy staff is considered an action against all of the EU. That's the message of the current EU President Sweden to Teheran as a French teacher and an Iranian employee of the British Embassy was said to have confessed to crimes that carry the death penalty in Iran. Clotilde Reiss, who taught French in Isfahan for five months, was charged with acting 7 against Iran's national security, by taking part in protests against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian news agency reports Reiss acknowledged writing a one-page summary of the situation in Isfahan and giving it to the French Embassy. British Embassy employee Hossein Rassam is also said to have confessed to spying for the United States. The British government calls the trial "an outrage 8". Iranian opposition 9 groups say the confessions 10 were coerced 11. For NPR News, I'm Teri Schultz in Brussels.

 This is NPR News from Washington.

 Reports from Indonesia say police have killed the man believed to be behind last month's hotel bombings in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. Nine people were killed in that attack. Noordin Top was reportedly killed early this morning after a 16-hour standoff with police in Central Java. NPR's Michael Sullivan has the story.

 Noordin Top was the most wanted man in Southeast Asia. The man authorities say helped plan the 2002 Bali bombings, the 2003 attack on the JW Marriott in Jakarta, and last month near simultaneous bombings of the Marriott and Ritz Carlton. The Bali bombings alone killed 202 people, mainly Australian tourists. Indonesian security forces have arrested hundreds of militants 12 in the past several years, but Noordin Top had repeatedly eluded 13 police until today. He was once a senior operative in the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah but split with JI a few years back and formed his own violent group. Noordin Top had many skills including the ability to plan operations and raise money for them.  But his most frightening skill, analysts 14 say, was his ability to recruit new members to the cause and persuade them to become suicide bombers 15. Michael Sullivan, NPR News, Hanoi.

 President Obama is accusing critics of congressional proposals for overhauling 16 the nation's health care system of resorting to misleading information and what he called "outlandish rumors 17 to try to scuttle 18 the legislation".

 "As we draw close to finalizing 19 and passing real health insurance reform, the defenders 20 of the status quo and political point-scorers in Washington are growing fiercer in their opposition.” Mr. Obama made the statement in his weekly radio and Internet address today.

 I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington