NPR 2009-05-01

Chrysler has been forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy 1 after the struggling US automaker failed to reach an agreement with its creditors 2. David Cole is the head of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor 3, Michigan. He says Chrysler hopes to be able to pass through bankruptcy quickly. “They wanna do a, what is called a surgical 4 or pre-package bankruptcy. And the real question is without bankruptcy law, can they achieve that? And already, for example, some of the Chrysler's suppliers have stopped sending their components 5 to Chrysler plants that they are now shut down immediately.” As part of the filing, the US government will provide Chrysler with up to 3.5 billion dollars in debtor-in-possession financing and up to 4.5 billion in exit financing. Chrysler has agreed to partner with an Italian automaker Fiat 6. The Obama administration called the bankruptcy filing critical to protecting 30,000 jobs at the third largest domestic automaker.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the public today on the spread of the new swine flu virus in the US. NPR's Julie Rovner has more.

The biggest increase since yesterday came with the addition of South Carolina with 10 confirmed cases, but still only one death reported that of a toddler in Texas who came with his family from Mexico. Still acting 7 CDC head Richard Besser warned that he expects the outbreak to continue to worsen. “So I think as we see this virus in more communities, as we see more people who are infected by this virus, we are gonna continue to see a broad spectrum 8 of disease, a from milder infection to more severe infection. Unfortunately, I do expect that there will be more deaths.” Besser said the public as well as the government needs to take responsibility to prevent the virus from spreading by taking measures such as staying home when sick. Julie Rovner, NPR News, Washington.

Defense 9 Secretary Robert Gates says the administration is still trying to determine what to do with prisoners who remain in Guantanamo Bay. President Obama has ordered the controversial military detention 10 camp to be closed within nine months. NPR's Jackie Northam reports.

Secretary Gates testifying before the Senate Appropriations 11 Committee said high level discussions are underway to determine how many of the roughly 240 remaining Guantanamo detainees can be transferred to another country, how many can be tried in the US and under what legal system. Gates hinted that several dozen of the detainees could continue to be held without trial under a policy of preventive detention. “The question is what’d we do with the 50 to 100, probably in that ballpark, who we cannot release and cannot try. And I think that question is still open.” Secretary Gates said no decision had been made where to hold detainees on US soil once Guantanamo closes. Several Senators made it clear the detainees were not welcome in their neighborhoods. Jackie Northam, NPR News, Washington.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 17 points, the NASDAQ was down 5 points. This is NPR.

The captain of the cargo 12 ship who was held hostage by Somali pirates before being freed by US Navy Seal sharp shooters told members of Congress today there needs to be better protection for commercial shipping 13 on the high seas. Captain Richard Philips testified before a committee on Capitol Hill. He said arming crews is not enough to protect against pirate attacks and said there should be an armed officer corps 14 backed by government for piracy 15.  However, others including the head of Philips-owned shipping company expressed concern that arming merchant sailors could only cause an arms race with the pirates.

A Senate amendment 16 that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to rate down the mortgages failed today. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

The so-called Cram-down amendment might have helped many people facing foreclosure. It would have granted judge's leeway to set mortgage payments so people could keep their homes. After weeks of campaigning, the measure's sponsor, Democratic Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois made one final impassioned plea. “The question we're gonna face is whether or not this Senate is going to listen to the families facing foreclosure, the families facing job loss and bills they can't pay, whether they're gonna listen to the American Bankers Association.”

Durbin said Wall Street hasn't paid for creating the mess and should not skate free. The measure had already passed the House but failed in the Senate, so its future is unclear. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

Dozens of out-of-state's same-sex couples have headed to Iowa, hoping to take advantage of the state's new law legalizing gay marriage. According to officials, more than a half of the same-sex couples who applied 17 for marriage licenses 18 in one western Iowa county came from neighboring Nebraska, which currently has a constitutional amendment, banning gay marriage. Many of those couples said they planned to move to Iowa in order to obtain the same rights and privileges as other married couples.