NPR 2009-09-13

Tens of thousands of protesters crowded the grounds of the US Capitol and parts of the National Mall to voice their discontent with the Federal government and the Obama administration's policies. One of the organizers of the march Jenny Beth Martin called on the crowd to make their voices heard to lawmakers. "And you hear us now. You are going to continue, we are going to continue to make our voices heard until you listen."

GOP Congressman 1 Tom Price of Georgia called the protesters a new generation of American patriots 2. "We will never back down in the defence of freedom, because the American spirit cannot be shackled 3 by political oppression." NPR's Jasmine Garsd says many of the demonstrators carried signs.

"I see a sign of the Statue of Liberty with the banner of “CHANGE” on her and she's holding up a Soviet 4 Union flag. I see one person with a TEA sign that says TEA: Taxed Enough Already. I see a banner right here saying "Man is not free unless government is limited." NPR's Jasmine Garsd in Washington.

 In Minneapolis there were chants and signs of a different kind today. President Obama spoke 5 to a rally as part of his effort to build public support for his plan to overhaul 6 the nation's health care system. "I don't know if you agree with me, but I think the time for bickering 7 is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the time for action. Now is the time to deliver on health care for every American. “Mr. Obama urged Americans not to pay attention to what he called "scare tactics " about the health care legislation now before Congress and instead to focus on an honest debate over the issues.

China is denouncing the administration's decision to impose trade penalties on tires imported to the US from China. The dispute comes at a time when the United States wants China's help on a range of issues. NPR's Chris Arnold has this story.

 Chinese officials say the import duty on tires sends a dangerous protectionist signal. US officials though are downplaying the severity of the trade dispute. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs spoke to reporters on the president's helicopter Marine 8 One.

"This is simply about enforcing the rules of the road and creating a trade system that is based on those rules and is fair for everyone." The United Steelworkers Union says Chinese tire imports have tripled over the past five years and cost more than 5,000 US tire worker jobs. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

 Heavy rains are creating more flash floods in northwestern Turkey today. The flooding has killed at least 31 people there this week.

This is NPR News from Washington.

 European nations are working to build a consensus 9 for major changes in the world financial system, ahead of the G20 summit to be held in Pittsburgh later this month. Eleanor Beardsley reports.

 Ronis's black-and-white photos embodied 10 and immortalized Paris après-guerre - A little boy running in the street with a baguette; lovers smooching on a balcony overlooking this city. He was the last of the great French photographers, best known for their shots of quirky everyday life in Paris. The other great Ronis's contemporaries were Robert Doisneau and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Willy Ronis was born in Paris to refugee parents from the Ukraine and Lithuania. Though he studied law, he ended up taking over his father's photography studio. In the post-war years, Ronis’s photos, a fashion in industry, were published in prestigious 11 magazines like Life and Vogue 12. But Ronis's special passion was the portrayal 13 of everyday life in Paris, its streets and its people, particularly the working class. President Sarkozy called Ronis a poet who immortalized the simple and joyous 14 life of an epic 15 gone-by. For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Beardsley in Paris.

 Vice President Joe Biden has praised the two firefighters who died battling the massive wildfire that's burning north of Los Angeles, saying that they were heroes who are unafraid to risk their lives in the effort to save others. Biden spoke at an emotional memorial service attended by thousands of firefighters and others at Dodger 16 Stadium today. The two died late last month when their truck plunged 17 off a mountain road in the Angeles National Forest as they searched for an escape route for a group of inmate 18 firefighters who had become trapped by a wall of flames. The blaze which destroyed more than 80 homes is still burning but is now more than 80% contained.

 I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.