NPR 2009-6-14

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Craig Windham.
 
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted the official vote count, showing him with a landslide 1 reelection win, was in his word "free and healthy". But supporters of his main opponent Mir Hossein Mousavi took to the streets to protest what they say was a rigged election. Some of the demonstrators clashed with police who responded with volleys of tear gas. The Obama administration is taking a cautious stance as NPR's Cory Flintoff reports.
 
In an address on Iran's state-run television, Ahmadinejad said his election to a second four-year term reflected the will of the people. Iranian election officials said the hardline president got more than 62% of the vote, but his main rival Mir Hossein Mousavi is claiming widespread vote fraud. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton said the US hopes the results reflect the genuine will and desire of the Iranian people. "We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran. But we like the rest of the world are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide." White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the US would also monitor alleged 2 irregularities. Cory Flintoff, NPR News.
 
North Korea has responded to the tough new sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council by announcing it will move ahead with production of nuclear weapons, and weaponize its existing plutonium stockpiles. The Foreign Ministry 3 spokesman also said the North will take military action if the US tries to isolate 4 the country. Doualy Xaykaothao reports.
 
Estimates vary on how much plutonium North Korea has, but South Korea reportedly said the communist regime has up to 40 kilograms of plutonium. US and South Korean officials say North Korea may be readying for a third nuclear test in response to the latest round of UN sanctions approved only yesterday. The tougher sanctions prohibit all weapons exports from North Korea and most arms imports into the North. Member states will also be asked to inspect suspicious cargo 5 coming into or out of North Korea by land, sea and air. For NPR News, I'm Doualy Xaykaothao in Seoul.
 
President Obama says he has identified more savings 6 to help pay for the overhaul 7 of the nation's health care system.
 
"I'm announcing an additional $313 billion in savings that will rein 8 in unnecessary spending and increase efficiency and the quality of care, savings that will ensure that we have nearly $950 billion set aside to offset 9 the costs of health care reform over the next ten years." Mr. Obama at his weekly radio and internet address today.
 
Most of the additional savings he mentioned would come from reducing reimbursements 10 to hospitals for Medicare and Medicaid services over the next decade. Some hospitals are complaining about that.
 
This is NPR News from Washington.
 
Investigators say it was a natural gas leak ignited by a spark that caused the explosion at a Slim Jim processing plant in North Carolina this week. The blast killed three workers and injured more than three dozen others, some critically.
 
NASA has postponed 11 the lift-off for the space shuttle Endeavor for at least four days. Launch pad technicians were fueling the spacecraft for a scheduled early morning launch today when hydrogen fuel began leaking from Endeavor's external fuel tank. Pat Duggins of member station WMFE has the story.
 
Space shuttle Endeavor can’t launch with the hydrogen leak because of the danger of an explosion. The vehicle could also lack enough propellant to safely achieve orbit . The leak on Endeavor occurred at a valve which connects the external fuel tank to a pipe coming from the launch pad. NASA's Mike Moses says there was a similar leak on Shuttle Discovery in March of this year and no cause was found.
 
"We measured how that seal fits. We look at it under a microscope. We look at it under acquired conditions. We didn’t really find anything that would tell us what the common cause is, but obviously something is going on a second time in three flights. Something is going on, so teams are being kicked off to go look at that."
 
It could take four days to fix the problem which could mean trouble for NASA. An unmanned spacecraft is on a nearby launch pad for a mission to the moon, that could mean Endeavor will have to wait until next Saturday to go. For NPR News, I'm Pat Duggins in Orlando.
 
A private school in Southern California says 36 of its students have been quarantined in China while they are tested for a swine flu. The students from Carlsbad were at the end of an educational tour of China.
 
The Federal Communications Commission says about 700,000 people have called a special government hotline this week confused about yesterday's final switch over from analogue 12 television broadcast signals to all digital. FCC chairman Michael Copps says the job is far from over.
 
I'm Craig Windham, NPR News in Washington.