NPR 2009-07-07

President Obama says a preliminary agreement reached today with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is an important step toward increasing nuclear security.

"We have signed a joint 1 understanding for a follow-on treaty to the START agreement that will reduce our nuclear warheads and delivery systems by up to a third from our current treaty limitations. This legally binding 2 treaty will be completed this year."

Mr. Obama met with the Russian President in Moscow today. Their talks continue Tuesday.

Seven US troops were killed in roadside bombings and firefights with militants 3 in Afghanistan. It was the deadliest day for US forces there in nearly a year. Insurgent 4 attacks have spiked 5 as US marines carried out a major offensive against Taliban in southern Helmand province.

The Defense 6 Secretary during the height of the US war in Vietnam, Robert McNamara died today. He was 93. NPR's Elizabeth Shogren reports.

McNamara was Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He played a key role in handling the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 and was a prime architect of the Vietnam War. The US effort to defeat the North Vietnamese communist regime cost the lives of more than 58,000 Americans and prompted broad public protests. Many people blamed McNamara for the United States' painful failure. Decades later, he conceded that his war strategy in Southeast Asia was "wrong, terribly wrong". Before serving as Defense Secretary, McNamara was the president of Ford 7 Motor Company. After he resigned from government service, he took over the helm of the World Bank and steered 8 that organization to focus more on fighting poverty. Elizabeth Shogren, NPR News, Washington.

Paramilitary troops are patrolling the capital of China's westernmost province in an effort to prevent more riots. Demonstrations 9 yesterday exploded into violence which has left at least 156 people dead and injured more than 800. NPR's Anthony Kuhn has more from Urumchi, China.

Riot police and armored vehicles gathered near Urumchi's grand international bazaar 10 in a neighborhood dominated by the Uigur ethnic 11 group. Uigurs stood in the streets and watched warily 12 as police swooped 13 in to make occasional arrests. Meanwhile top provincial 14 officials held a special meeting to address the violence. The officials emphasized on state television that the riots were the work of extremists and separatists instigated 15 by Uigur exiles overseas and that the government's ethnic and religious policies had nothing to do with it. Locals expect the current security measures here including the suspension of all Internet service to continue for at least two more days. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Urumchi, China.

On Wall Street today, the Dow closed up 44 points at 8,324. The NASDAQ was down nine points.

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to meet with ousted 16 Honduran President Manuel Zelaya tomorrow in Washington. The US has condemned 17 the coup 18 that overthrew 19 Zelaya more than a week ago and the violence used against his supporters. Zelaya tried to return to Honduras yesterday, but coup authorities prevented his plane from landing. He says he will try to return again.

The state of Tennessee is closing its public caves because of a fungus 20 that's killing 21 bats. White nose syndrome 22 has already killed at least 500,000 bats in New England and the mid-Atlantic. From member station WPLN in Nashville, Blake Farmer reports.

White nose was discovered in upstate New York three years ago and has since swept south. Endangered Species Coordinator 23 Richard Kirk of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency says the one-year cave closure should slow the spread of the fungus which has killed up to 95% of infected bat populations.

"White nose is something that we kept up with, but it was in the northeast and so it really wasn't on the front burner here until we got this major jump."

Kirk says Tennessee may be more susceptible 24 to outbreaks because unlike many bats up north, those living in the south dwell in caves year-round. US Fish and Wildlife suggests all states bordering Virginia consider a cave closure. Biologists believe cavers may be partly to blame for spreading the fungus by not disinfecting their gear before entering a new cave. For NPR News, I'm Blake Farmer in Nashville.

The government has finalized 25 rules governing federally funded research on human embryonic 26 stem cells. The National Institutes of Health today said federal money may only be used to work with human embryos 27 from fertility clinics that would otherwise be discarded rather than from those created for research purposes.

I'm Barbara Klein, NPR News in Washington.